Vengeance of the Freeway Phantom
by codered91
Summary: Ponch, Jon and the rest of the Central Division meet up with a guy they've dubbed as the Freeway Phantom. He's taking out specifically motor CHP officers - one at a time. Is love in the air for Ponch and the new CHP 'female' officer? Remains to be seen.
1. Chapter 1

Vengenance of the Freeway Phantom

By Codered91

Chapter 1

Sergeant Getraer had informed all the officers that they were getting in a new officer on their shift that day. The new officer that was being added to the personnel roster was a replacement for the empty spot left by a recent retirement. Of course, normally, that wasn't any big deal because officers came and went all the time. But, the bomb Getraer had dropped was that this replacement was a **female** officer.

Ponch wanted to be there, ready to meet and greet the new arrival--in his usual gentlemanly way, of course. The time spent waiting on his partner though, was beginning to make him edgy and he started to drum his fingers on the bike's gas tank. His mind began drifting toward how he was going to handle this---situation. His thoughts were so distant he didn't hear the motorcycle approaching him, or the shifting of gears as his partner slowed his bike down as he prepared to stop right beside him.

Suddenly though, he came back to reality and turned his attention in the direction of the sound. He gave his friend his infamous toothy grin and as John backed his bike right beside his, he told him, "'Bout time, partner!!"

"What do yah mean? I'm right on time---as usual. Umm, and what you doing here so early? You've never gotten here before me? What's up?!"

"Jon, have you forgotten **already**?! We're getting that new officer in today! That **'female'** officer?! You know darn well I told you I wanted to get there early today."

His partner gave him an 'oh brother' look. "Ponch, she's just another officer." Even he knew that was a ridiculous statement when it came to his partner. Jon just thought he'd rattle his chains a little before they headed to work. "Ponch, go easy just this once! Simply welcome her like you would any other officer."

Ponch looked at him like he had come from an entirely different planet. "Jon, we're gettin' fresh blood here. We're..." he stopped as his partner just shook his head. "What?!"

"We're gonna be late if we don't get a move on," Jon told him, as he started up his motor and got it moving on the freeway.

Ponch followed and then rode right up beside him. "You know what, Baker?!" he spoke up to be heard over the two motorcycle engines.

Jon wasn't so sure he wanted to proceed with this, but he knew he was trapped, "What?!"

"With an attitude like that, you'll never get married!" With that retort, Ponch sped up his motor, knowing full well his partner would be right beside him, momentarily.

They arrived at Central and, of course, with Ponch in the lead, they quickly entered the building. Ponch took a look see around the hall as they walked down it, but all the faces he saw were of the people he knew. He stepped up to Grossie and asked, "Hey, you see the new officer yet?"

Grossie just looked at him and smiled knowingly, "Nope. Getraer will probably have her make her appearance right at briefing."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Ponch replied, sounding a little disgruntled. 'Briefing', he thought, 'the Briefing room, sure that's where she's hiding.' He left his partner standing next to Grossie and then headed in that direction. Both Baker and Grossie stood there just shaking their heads.

Ponch poked his head into the Briefing room, but there was nobody there yet. He shook his head and decided to go to the break room and visit the vending machine. He needed his daily dose of Ding-Dongs.

Getraer was in there, getting a cup of coffee before briefing. He had just learned a piece of very disturbing news, as to what had been going on out on the freeways after B shift came on yesterday afternoon--news that he had to relate to his people that morning and he was quite upset about it. He turned to see Frank heading toward the food machines. Joe could tell he was totally oblivious to the fact that he was even there---he was so intent on getting his daily rations. Getraer shook his head and commented to the young officer as he got his treat, "Frank, you keep eating those things, you're gonna turn into a Ding-Dong."

Ponch turned and as usual wore that toothy grin, "Ah, Sarge, these get me through the day. Besides, they're cheaper here than they are in any store."

The sergeant just gave his head another shake, "Uh, briefing's in five, Poncherello." Then as he stood up beside him, he tapped him on the shoulder, "Don't be late." He left the room still shaking his head.

Ponch stepped back up to the machine and got a couple more packages. He wasn't about to let his sergeant's 'hurry up' message cause him to forget his reason for coming in there. Once he got what he needed, he headed back out and almost collided with Bear. "Hey!"

"Easy, Ponch!! Good grief, you aren't gonna eat all those today are you?" Bear teased, knowing full well the forthcoming answer.

"Sure, why not?

"You'll be on such a sugar high, it'll take you till next month to come down off'n it," he chuckled at his own comment. Ponch simply gave him a look that made him take a step or two backwards and then quickly stepped out of the way. Bear turned to watch Frank stomp his way down the hall. Then, he went into the break room. He glanced up at the clock and groaned, as he saw that briefing was only a minute away. There'd be no time for coffee at the moment. So, with a grunt of sincere displeasure he turned and headed for the Briefing room---just making it, with thirty seconds to spare.

All the officers were now in their seats including the new one. Getraer came walking in carrying his notebook filled with the usual urgent notes that needed to be passed on to all the officers.

"All right, people, settle down!" he ordered them in his best commanding voice. The room got quiet very quickly, especially after they saw the look of concern on their leader's face.

"Okay, first order of business...I'd like to introduce everyone to our new officer, Stephanie Wilkes." He pointed in her direction, "Stephanie!" She stood up for just a moment and greeted everyone there with a smile.

Then he briefly filled everyone in as to where she came from. He also encouraged everyone to make her feel at home. Then he got down to some very serious business. "Okay, people, we've got a guy driving a green sports car who seems to enjoy creating some very serious mayhem out on the freeway. Last night, a motor officer was nearly killed when the suspect caused a ten-car pileup on the San Bernardino freeway. The officer is..." he paused a moment to look at Stephanie and then reluctantly continued, "the officer is listed in critical condition, with broken bones, lacerations and a lot of bruises. Doctors think he'll pull through, but his injuries will naturally require a lot of healing time. Unfortunately, we didn't get a license number." He continued to give them additional information regarding the incident. Then he passed on a few more items for them to keep their eyes open for. He finally ended the briefing with, "Okay, people, keep your heads up and your eyes open out there today." He closed the book, which told the officers he was done. He began to leave, but then suddenly thought of something else, "Ah, Jon? Frank? My office in five minutes," he requested and then turned to his new female officer, "Stephanie, you want to come to my office for a moment?"

The woman started to walk towards him, "Sure, Sergeant."

They walked down the hall and into his office. The sergeant sat behind his desk and motioned for her to sit in the chair in front of his desk. "Stephanie, first of all welcome to Central."

"Thanks, sir."

"Stephanie, I'd like you to team up with one of my best motor officers, Jon Baker. He's a good man." He stopped speaking and rubbed his chin. Then he stood up, walked around to the side of his desk and sat down on the corner, "Stephanie, I've read through you jacket. From where I sit, you're one very good officer. I understand that your move here was because of a personal situation that happened back in Sacramento. I need to know that you've come to terms with this and that you will be able to handle any given situation that may happen out there."

"Sergeant, I'm okay. I'm still dealing with it, but in my own way. Admittedly, I still have my bad moments, but I try to keep it out of mind while on duty." Well, she did her best anyway.

"Okay, good girl I'll have to hold you to that." He was about to continue when he heard footsteps in his office doorway.

"Oh, s'cuse us, Sarge, you wanted to see us?" Jon respectfully asked his superior.

"Yeah," Getraer said and turned back to the lady officer sitting there in front of his desk, "Stephanie, this is Jon Baker and Frank Poncherello."

She stood up and shook hands with the two men, "Hello, Jon...Frank.

"Umm, call me Ponch. All my friends do," Frank told her with his winning smile.

In turn, Stephanie flashed him back her prettiest smile, "Okay, Ponch it is."

Getraer shook his head and then proceeded, "Frank, " he cleared his throat and smiled, "Frank...Jon, I'm gonna split you two up for a while. Jon, I'd like you to team up with Stephanie." He stopped short when he saw the look on Ponch's face and that he was just about to make a retort, er, reply to that. "Frank, I thought you'd be happy about this. You'll be all by your lonesome out there for a change." He gave his young officer a wink and a mischievous grin, then turned back to Jon, "I need you to get her acclimated to the area around here."

Wow! Had Getraer lost his mind?! Ponch was **not** pleased to be going solo and he figured Getraer knew it too. He wanted to comment that Jon should be the one out there by himself. Ponch wanted to be the one to take Stephanie under his wing. But their commander had spoken and the look Getraer had given him caused him to swallow back his reply.

"Okay, Jon, Stephanie, head on out will yah," he cleared his throat. "Umm, I need to talk to Frank here a minute." Baker and his new 'female' partner filed out of the room.

As soon as they were gone, Ponch asked, "What gives, Sarge?"

"Frank, I...take the seat there, will yah?" Getraer urged and went to sit back behind his desk. "I need you to simply...ahh, nuts, Frank, I need you to stay away from Stephanie." That wasn't the way he wanted to put it.

Ponch was mortified, "What do yah mean?"

"I mean, I don't care if you talk about every day trivial matters, just don't go expecting anything else...okay?" Getraer studied the young man who was sitting right there in front of him. He could tell by the look on Frank's face that he was clueless as to what his sergeant was trying to get at. "Look, Frank, don't ask her out on a date, don't try to romance her. Just treat her like you would any other officer, okay?"

"Ah-uh, Sarge, didn't you see those gorgeous brown eyes...and that smile?!" He stopped for a second, then, "Nah, of course not. You're married. But man, asking me not to..."

Getraer put up a hand to stop him, "Down, Romeo, down! Look, Stephanie transferred here because...because she had to have a change of scenery, okay? I don't want to go into details with you about this, because I feel that's up to her--if she wants to divulge her reasons to anybody. Right now, just keep it on a 'friends only' basis." He paused momentarily and looked directly at him, "Got it?!:

"Sure, Sarge, sure."

"Okay, head out and just be careful out there."

Ponch left the room with his mind naturally reeling about what Getraer had just told him--er, ordered him not to do. Of course, with his line of reasoning, one way or another, he'd come up with a way of, well, getting around the 'order'. But at the moment, he figured he'd better just move along and get his motor on the road.

As Jon and Stephanie walked to their motors out in the parking lot he decided he'd try to learn a little more about his new partner, "Mind if I ask a few questions? Just to get to know you a little better." he grinned as he figured he'd better qualify the reason for asking.

"Sure, why not?"

"How long have you been with the CHP?"

"Uh, almost five years now, " she answered, after a brief pause.

Then after she answered a few more trivial questions they were now ready to start their motors to head out, but Jon had one more innocent question, well, he thought it was innocent anyway, "What brings you to Central?"

Stephanie's emotions suddenly shifted to one of extreme sadness as the truth for the reason rushed up at her. She quickly looked straight ahead, wiped a stubborn tear from her eyes and put on her sunglasses. She finally answered his question, "Change, Jon, I needed a change." She suddenly got her motor going and moved it forward toward the intersection, trying to hide the moistness in her eyes and the stubborn tears that slowly came down her cheek. As she stopped at the intersection knowing she had to wait for Jon she quickly stuck her gloved finger under her glasses to rub the stubborn tears away. She was well aware that now was not the time to lose whatever grip she had on her emotions.

Jon was beside her almost instantly and saw the movement, "You okay?"

"Yeah, just got something in my eyes is all," she told him somewhat truthfully. Then both officers headed out on the freeway.

Their morning patrol had started out by assisting an out of the area motorist having mechanical issues. First of order of business was to make sure wrecker personnel were notified to come and pick up the car. Then, while waiting for the wrecker they made sure the owner of the vehicle remained safe. Once that had been accomplished, they continued on patrol.

Ponch was cruising along on his beat. It sure was different out there, under that blue California sky riding the freeway--solo. His attention to his surroundings though was just as acute as ever, if not more so.

He had been traveling behind this one particular car now, for quite some time. It had been moving well below the posted speed limit. He was just about to pull it over to see what was wrong, when it started to weave in the lane--instantly placing him on alert. he also held back a little and slowed down even more. He put on his lights, signaling the driver to pull over. But, apparently, the driver didn't see them, or was ignoring them. So he flipped the siren switch on and then turned it off--just to get the driver's attention. That didn't work either. He did it once more, but there still wasn't any reaction from the motorist. So he checked traffic behind him and then changed lanes to come up beside the driver's window. He motioned her to move over to the side of the road and the car's operator finally complied.

Ponch moved over to the shoulder and stopped behind the vehicle. The driver appeared to be a little old lady. He wondered what he'd find out as to what her problem was. He stood there by the driver's window watching the woman. She was attempting, albeit, rather unsuccessfully, to quiet her little dog down. He grinned when he saw that the animal wasn't any bigger than a large rat. He couldn't believe how something that small could have such a loud, obnoxious bark. Through all the noise, he tried to get the woman's attention, "Ma'am?!" It seemed as though she was ignoring him, as she continued to try to get the noisy mutt under control. He tried a second time, "Ma'am?!" Still nothing.

Finally, she admitted to defeat in getting anywhere with her dog and turned in his direction, so Ponch continued, ""Ma'am, were you having some sort of problem on the highway?" he quickly inquired. "You need help or something?"

She came back with and rather loudly, "Hello, Officer. Why did you stop me?! I wasn't speeding!"

He smiled at her, "No, Ma'am, you weren't speeding. But you were traveling too slowly for freeway traffic. That can be just as dangerous. I just wanted to check if something was wrong before it became a hazard."

Her little mongrel was still yapping during this whole time. Still not answering him, she turned her attention back to the little mutt, "Now, Sweetie, you must be quiet, mommy's trying to talk to this nice young man." Then to Ponch she said, "Sorry, Officer, Sweetie doesn't like it when people come so close to the car," that was all she said.

Ponch suddenly had the feeling that he was talking to the wind. He hadn't received a single answer to anything he had asked her. Either she simply couldn't hear, or maybe her hearing aid, if she had one, wasn't working. Finally, he decided he might as well just give up. So, speaking a little louder, he told her, "Ma'am, I'm not going to cite you for anything, but you really should try to drive closer to the speed limit, okay?" he urged and stepped away from her car.

"You have a good day, too, Officer!" she wished, and then, ever so slowly, she maneuvered her car back onto the highway.

Ponch stood there momentarily watching the car as it crawled off down the road. It continued on so extremely slow, that he figured it would probably be tomorrow before it finally disappeared from view. With a shake of his head he went back to his bike and moved on down the highway himself. It wasn't long before he got tied up on something else.

Jon and Stephanie had just completed a traffic stop, when they heard Grossman's traffic. "LA, 7 Mary 5 in pursuit of a tan sports car," then Grossie gave his location and the direction he was heading in to LA dispatch. The driver of the vehicle could be the guy they were looking for. He remembered Getraer had said the guy's car was green, but he still wasn't about to take any chances.

The dispatcher then contacted the officers on the freeways."Any available unit in the vicinity of 405, Mary 5 is in pursuit of a tan sports car, any available unit please acknowledge and assist." The dispatcher gave further information as to where Grossie was on the 405.

All officers that were available and in the approximate vicinity were listening intently, Grossie needed back up and fast. Without a word, both Jon and Stephanie sped up their motors and headed in Grossman's direction. There wasn't an officer within a fifty-mile radius that didn't want to catch the suspect, especially if this could be their guy. Even Bear soon came up behind them to give assistance.

All three soon were able to catch up to Grossie and join the pursuit. Jon checked his speedometer and frowned. They were now traveling almost ninety miles an hour. 'If this is the suspect...and anything happens at this speed...' he wouldn't allow himself to complete the thought. Just as he looked up again he and Stephanie heard Bear's panic-stricken traffic.

"Mary 5, abort the pursuit!! Grossman, back off!! Now!!" For some reason, what Bear thought he had seen what the guy start to do, or was about to do, caused his sheer panic for Grossie's life. The driver of the sports car had got between two other cars and Bear had a sinking suspicion of what the guy was going to do.

Sure enough, the suspect got up ahead of both cars and then quickly swung his car to the right--just close enough to the car to clip the driver's side front bumper, throwing the car completely out of control. As that car spun around, it hit another car in the other lane and created a domino effect. The driver of the tan sports car simply, merrily continued on his way down the freeway knowing full well the mayhem he had left behind.

Grossie managed to slow his bike down enough to where he could do some fancy maneuvering to keep from becoming the second officer to be injured in such a fashion. He pulled his bike off onto the shoulder of the freeway and watched as cars continued up ahead of him to collide with one another. Finally the mayhem came to a halt, with the hit and run driver long gone.

Stephanie and Jon pulled up behind Grossman and stopped. Bear had taken on the task of stopping traffic that was behind him, by running interference--moving his patrol car back and forth in the lanes, as a signal to those cars that they were to come to a complete stop.

There was a lot of work that needed to be done now and the first order of business was to get medical help out there. That's what Jon took care of, "LA, 7 Mary 3...We need fire and paramedic assistance at our location. We have a multiple MVA (motor vehicle accident)." As soon as he was through with this traffic, he quickly asked Grossman, "Hey, you okay?"

Grossman had already assured Stephanie that he was when Jon was talking with the dispatcher, but it bore repeating, "Y-yeah, I'm fine. But man, that was way too close. That definitely **had** to be our guy."

"You're right, you came mighty close to biting the dirt on that one," Stephanie told him, as she shook her head in disgust.

"Yeah, remind me to thank Bear for saving my hide."

"Hang tight here till you quit shaking. Stephanie and I'll get to work," Jon told him. He could almost see his fellow officer's body vibrate from the sheer terror of how close he came to being seriously injured...or killed.

They quickly left his side and went to check on the other people who weren't so fortunate to stay out of harms way. They went from car to car, till Jon found a very seriously injured man who had a badly bleeding laceration, which he had to hold pressure on till the paramedics arrived. "Stephanie, you find anybody else with serious injuries?" he asked as she came back from double-checking a few of the victims.

Before she could answer, the paramedics arrived. So she signaled to Jon to hold on to that thought and she directed one of them to a couple of 'seriously' injured people who needed medical assistance---immediately. The other paramedic ran over to Jon as he had motioned that he needed help and in a hurry.

Baker continued to assist as much as he could. After bandages and a C-collar were applied, Jon helped to get the victim out of the car and down onto the pavement where he could be assessed for further injuries. The ambulances still hadn't shown up. But additional paramedic units had arrived on the scene to assist the crew that was already there.

Once Jon and Stephanie were freed up in helping the medics they got busy helping Bear with traffic control. With the fire trucks, rescue trucks and also now the wreckers on scene they were kept busy making sure traffic moved carefully through the congested area or were stopped moving entirely when necessary. Plus with ambulances now arriving on scene they had to make sure that they were able to get in position to get to patients that needed to be transported to the hospital.

At long last all the victims had been taken care of, the wreckers hauled away the crumpled vehicles away. At this point when Jon finally had a chance to look around and see more clearly the entire area that had been involved, it struck him of all the paperwork that would be involved--and in triplicate.

After the lanes were clear of all the cars and debris, the traffic was allowed to flow once again more freely. Bear chatted momentarily with the three motor officers before continuing on his patrol. Jon patted Grossie on the back, "Hey, why don't you go back to Central and take a well-deserved break. Heaven knows, after what you just went through you deserve one."

"Yeah and have Getraer catch me sloughing off? Don't think so, Jon," Grossman told him with a shake of his head.

Jon grinned, "Umm, I think when you tell him what happened; he'll give you at least five minutes to have a coffee break, don't you?"

"Yeah, maybe you're right, 'course, knowing Getraer he'll demand to know why I didn't nail the guy!"

Both Stephanie and Jon were forced to chuckle on that one. "Hey actually, all three of us deserve a break," Baker determined. "C'mon let's go!"

The trio arrived at Central, took their 'deserved' break and then headed back out on the freeways. The rest of the day was filled with the usual, eventful patrols--which ended up with the predicted endless paperwork.


	2. Chapter 2

Vengeance of the Freeway Phantom

Chapter 2

The next day at briefing, Getraer once again had some very bad news for his officers. He walked up to the podium and slammed his book down, which naturally caught everyone's attention. "All right, people, listen up. Okay, yesterday, Grossman **almost** became the second officer taken out by our 'Freeway Phantom'. Fortunately, he's with us here today. Samuelson, from B-shift wasn't so lucky." Getraer couldn't miss the very disturbed expressions on everyone's face, as they waited to hear what had happened. "Samuelson was knocked off his motor much in the same way as the first officer was and Grossman almost was. He's in the hospital right now, listed in critical condition. People, I don't need to remind you that this guy has got to be stopped. So far, we've been lucky, but two injured officers is still way too many. The unfortunate thing about this whole business is that it seems this guy doesn't use the same car more than once. Each time it's been done, a different color, different make and model vehicle has been used, but the way these, ah, accidents have been so similar in nature, we're thinking it's gotta be the same guy. Somehow, he's got the knack of stealing a car, using it to cause an accident and then dumping it---long before the owner even knows its missing. The only thing we know about this guy, is that in all three strikes he's used a souped up sports car of some sort. That's not much to go on people." Joe then continued with additional items the officers were to look out for while on their beats. The sergeant just couldn't shake the bad feeling that things were only going to get worse before they finally nailed this guy. He hoped he was wrong. "Okay, people, get out there and make yourselves visible. Only stay out of harms way, okay?" he finished and left the room to head for his office.

As everyone filed out of the room, the topic of conversation was the 'Freeway Phantom'---the guy that simply showed up out of nowhere on the highway, created his havoc and then left the scene completely unscathed. All the uniformed officers left the room wearing frowns...and shaking their heads.

As Ponch met up with Jon and Stephanie he joined in their conversation about their latest nemesis. Then he changed the subject to a more--pleasant conversation, well, at least he thought so. "Hey, I didn't get to tell you last night about the elderly lady I stopped yesterday."

Jon eyed him suspiciously, "What is **so** different about stopping an elderly lady from anyone else, Ponch?"

"Man! This woman couldn't hear with a hoot!! I mean, I'd ask her a question and she'd come back with something totally off the wall from what I asked. I tried to get her attention---twice. She acted like she never even heard me. Oh and she had this little dog that wouldn't stop yapping. She paid more attention to **it** than she did to **me**!" he pointed his thumb at himself. Then he shook his head and started off once again, "Man, I don't see how people who can't hear worth a..." he stopped when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

"Ah, Frank..." It was Getraer. He had momentarily stepped out of his office only to find a few of his officer's 'loitering' out in the hall. "You are going on your beat---sometime this morning?"

"Ah, yeah, Sarge, I was just..." Ponch stopped again when his sergeant pointed him toward the door.

"Okay, okay, I'm going, I'm going!!" he knew better than to argue the point...even though he did think about doing so...for a second or two anyway.

Sergeant Getraer simply looked at Jon and Stephanie, waiting for one of them to make a retort, er, reply, but they just grinned and followed Ponch out the door, leaving Joe smiling and shaking his head.

This day's patrol proved no different from any other day. Each officer managed to keep pretty busy handling one thing after another.

After Ponch traveled a number of miles handling the typical freeway problems, along with keeping an eye out for the 'Freeway Phantom', he managed to stop a vehicle along a very busy portion of the freeway. "LA, 7 Mary 4." He had already retrieved the driver's paperwork and, from all the signs the guy had given him, he couldn't help but wonder if he had something to hide. Actually, he thought he caught a whiff of drugs, but before he did any searching he wanted to get assistance from another unit. He didn't want to give the guy any reason though to think that he even had the slightest inkling.

"Go ahead, Mary 4!"

He gave the dispatcher his location, requested back up and then the information needed to check the man's file and driving record. It wasn't long before the dispatcher came back, "7 Mary 4, LA, can you copy felony warrant traffic?"

"Go ahead LA!" Ponch wasn't surprised at that bit of news. He practically expected it. During this time he hadn't taken his eyes off the guy sitting at the wheel.

"7 Mary 4...Your subject has a felony warrant out of San Diego County. It's a statewide pick up. The warrant is for possession and sale of controlled substance and also weapons charges."

"Clear LA!!"

Just as he was about to walk back up to the car, a CHP unit pulled up behind him, it was Turner. "What you got, Ponch?" Turner asked.

"I got a felony warrant and I think I got whiff of drugs in this vehicle. C'mon, before he rabbits on us."

Both officers walked up to the car with Ponch taking the lead. Both men were ever so watchful, cautiously alert to suspicious movement in the car. Ponch stepped up to the driver's window with Turner taking the guard position. "Sir, would you please step out of the car," he stated more than asked.

The guy was about to hesitate and ask why, but he figured it would be in his best interest to comply. He felt if it would have been just the one Chippy he could more than likely have handled him, but two was an entirely different thing.

Ponch had his hold on the guy's one arm as they moved onto the shoulder behind his car. Then he explained to him about the outstanding warrants. Then Ponch took care of putting on the handcuffs as Turner read him his rights. Ponch concentrated on making sure that he was prepared just in case the man tried something stupid as he was worked to get the cuffs on him. Fortunately, for both officers and the suspect, everything went off without a hitch.

Jon and Stephanie had just finished taking care of a minor two-car accident and were back on the road. It wasn't very long after that when they got busy again as the dispatcher came over the radio, "Any units on the 405, BOL (be on the lookout) for a possible DUI. Car's described as an older model Oldsmobile, red in color." Then the actual location and the direction of travel were also given. Apparently, whoever called it in had also given the plate information.

The two motor officers traveled on until they came up to an emergency exit, which they took so they could head in the opposite direction on the freeway to see if they could manage to find this car. Jon notified LA that they would attempt to locate the vehicle as they were now heading in that direction.

A few moments later, LA came back, "7 Mary 3 and Mary 6 received another call on the DUI suspect. He's about..." dispatch continued filling them in as to exactly where the subject was. It appeared that whoever called the information in on the DUI was still following the suspect.

Jon did some quick mental calculating, and then he told his partner, "That puts him about five or six miles ahead of us!" At that point they sped up their motors considerably as they wanted this impaired driver off the road before he managed to hurt someone or worse.

Even though they did their level best to catch up to the car, it just wasn't good enough. The dispatcher called them, "7 Mary 3 and Mary 6, roll over with injuries. Paramedics have already been dispatched," came the unwelcomed, but not surprising traffic.

Because they had literally tried to race up to catch the driver, the accident was only about two miles away from where they were right at that moment. Both officers turned on their lights and sirens and got to the location in no time. Sure enough, the driver had been thrown from the car and now his legs were pinned under it.

As the rollover occurred in a rather brushy area, the last thing they needed was even the smallest spark from the damaged vehicle to start a fire. As soon as they arrived on scene, Jon informed dispatch to notify the fire department as well.

While Jon was on the radio, Stephanie quickly went over to the victim. The guy was alert, thus very aware of his predicament. Even with the affects of the alcohol it didn't fully mask the pain he was feeling at that moment. "Ahhh, help me!" he managed to plead through clenched teeth.

"Hold on! Help is on the way," she told him. She realized in the condition he was in that probably was little comfort. The victim wanted, er, needed medical attention--now.

In no time, a fire engine and a squad of two paramedics were on the scene, they quickly began treating the victim. The engine crew worked to get the car off of the guy so the paramedics could get him out from under it. That was the only way they'd be able to assess his leg injuries. A couple firemen were stationed in position to combat any spark that could ignite at any time. They worked quickly and efficiently and in no time, they had freed the victim. With the ambulance now on scene they loaded the guy onto a gurney and into the back of the rig then it was sent on its way.

After Jon and Stephanie completed what they had to do there they headed to the hospital as well to continue the investigation, get blood drawn to evaluate how much alcohold he had in his system and then place the driver under arrest for the DUI.

In the meantime, Ponch and Turner were still dealing with the man who was under arrest on the open warrants. Both officers knew they had 'probable cause' to search the suspect's vehicle and they certainly intended on doing just that.

First of all though, Ponch tried playing the game, as the suspect was in the back seat of Turner's car he asked him, "Hey man, you have anything in your vehicle you wanna tell us about to save us from having to search for it. Cause either way, we'll find it." The guy was totally silent. Actually, the guy figured his goose was cooked anyway.

So, they left the guy in the Turner's vehicle and both officers went toward his car. Ponch started in the front seat area and Turner took the back. It doesn't take a cop long in his career to learn the places a suspect could hide things. And in this case, it wasn't long before both found what they were looking for. It was because of that they decided to go even further with the search. Ponch went to the front of the car to check under the hood, while Turner went to look in the trunk.

Ponch raised the hood and then looked at the sides and he couldn't help but shake his head when he saw all the blocks of dope that was duct-taped to the insides of the car. He could only imagine the street value of the stuff.

Turner raised the trunk lid, then the blanket that was covering whatever the man was carrying there. Under the blanket there were a number of cardboard boxes with closed lids. He opened them one at a time; each box was filled with more dope. After opening them he moved a couple of them aside, he quickly noticed a wooden crate. He wasn't about to leave **that** unchecked. He went back to his car and got a tool so he could open it. Once he broke it open and saw what was inside, he arched a brow, shook his head and yelled, "Ponch!"

"Yeah?!"

"Ah, you may wanna come back here a minute? I think you'll want to see this!" Then he stepped aside as Ponch came around to the back of the car.

As he walked up to Turner, he asked, "What yah got?!" Without a word, Turner simply pointed to the inside of the trunk and the opened crate.

When Ponch saw what Turner wanted him to see, it was enough to make him whistle and shake his head. "Man, there's enough artillery here to supply a small army!! We're gonna have to get another unit here to unload this stuff." So he returned to his motor, while Turner kept an eye on the 'stuff' in the trunk. Ponch returned to his motor to contact the dispatcher, "LA, 7 Mary 4. I need an additional unit at my location." As the dispatcher handled his request, he went back to join Turner. He couldn't help but voice how happy he was that they made this bust, "Man, Turner, can you imagine what a gang could do with this stuff! I'm sure glad we got to it before he could get it out on the streets." Turner couldn't help but agree with his statement.

It wasn't long before Bear arrived on scene. Ponch motioned for him to pull in front of the car. After he exited and met up with both officers, he inquired, "Hey, Ponch, what yah got?!!"

Ponch directed him to the engine compartment, "But that's not all! C'mon!" All three stepped back to the trunk where Ponch motioned for Bear to look down at the trunk bed.

Bear's eyes became the size of grapefruits. "Umm, you honestly think my car is big enough to hold **all this**??"

"If we pack it real tight," Ponch told him with a toothy grin and chuckle.

The three officers began by putting the crate into the trunk of Bear's cruiser. There was so much dope they filled up the remaining room in the trunk with as much as they could, but because the crate was so big they had to put some of the dope in the back seat area. They really didn't want to do that, but using the blanket to cover it would safely keep it from any prying eyes.

The wrecker had been dispatched in such a timely manner that it arrived on scene shortly before they completed the task. So the car was now in route to the impound yard, the suspect was headed to jail and the dope and guns was transferred to headquarters to be stored in a safe place. The whole matter had taken so long that all officers involved headed back to Central to begin their reports.

Ponch finally made it home to his apartment and changed into his 'street clothes'. He sat on the couch and closed his eyes for a moment to reflect on the day's events. To say the least, he was bushed. He thought about Stephanie. He couldn't help but wonder why Getraer told him what he did about her. What was the big deal about him asking her out on a date? If she were married he would have told him. Subject would have been closed. Then an idea floated through his tired brain, an idea he personally thought was a good one. That is if he could say so himself. An idea he felt had to also include Jon and oh yes, Jon's girlfriend. Now that would be an excellent added touch. Getraer didn't have to know about him inviting 'friends' over for a simple dinner. Actually, Ponch felt that what he did after his shift was over was, well, none of anybody's business. He consciously felt that even included Getraer...well, to a certain extent anyway. Admittedly, though, Ponch knew he'd still have to be careful. He really didn't want to cross the line that Getraer had drawn. He couldn't help but smile as his plan fell into place.

'Jon's gotta be home by now,' he thought to himself, so he grabbed the phone and dialed his number.

"Hello?"

"Jon! It's Ponch!"

"Hey, Ponch, what's up?"

"You busy Friday night?"

"Well, Melissa and I were going to dinner and a movie. Why?"

"Umm, could you possibly take a rain check on that? I'd like both of you to come over to my place for dinner?"

Baker could tell by his voice that his friend was more than likely up to something." "All right, Ponch, why don't you just spill it..."

It seemed Ponch could never pull a fast one on Jon. "Huh? Do I always have to have an ulterior motive just because I ask you over for dinner?"

"C'mon Ponch, spit it out. I know you're dying to tell me whatever it is you're up to."

"Humph! All right, here it is. I'm also going to ask Stephanie to come."

Although he also wasn't given the particular reason behind the 'order, Jon had been warned by Getraer to watch out for something like this and should something like this happen he was to make an attempt to diffuse it. "Ah, Ponch, remember what Getraer said?"

Ponch was shocked that even Jon apparently knew what he was told 'not to do'. But then again, he should have known Getraer would make sure that all the bases were covered. "Ah uh, Jon," he paused to clear his throat, "this isn't a date! It's just a little get together with a friend, er, friends."

Baker was forced to chuckle on that one. "Now that's a first! Ponch, there's never been a time when you've been with a young lady that it's **just** been a 'little get together with a friend'."

Ponch was getting a little more than upset with this conversation, "Look Jon, if Stephanie does come, would you and Melissa come too?"

"Okay, you win; I'll cover this with Melissa and see what she says. I'm sure we'll be there. But I sure hope Getraer doesn't find out."

"Humph! So what if he does! Okay, I'll check with Stephanie tomorrow morning and let you know. Don't you **dare** say anything to her before I get the chance to ask her, okay?"

"Sure, Ponch, sure, my lips are sealed," Baker promised and chuckled again.

"All right then, see you tomorrow," with that the conversation was ended.


	3. Chapter 3

Vengeance of the Freeway Phantom

Chapter 3

The next morning when everyone was finally seated in the Briefing room, Getraer again came in with a very unhappy look. "All right people simmer down, simmer down. The 'Freeway Phantom' hit us again last night for the 3rd day in a row." He had to pause and hold up a hand to quiet down the stir that bit of news created. "Unfortunately, we have another motor officer down. Krieger is listed in serious condition with multiple injuries. From what I've been told, it all happened the same way as the others." He paused very briefly than added, "I cannot **begin **to tell you how much the Captain wants this guy. The sooner we take him off the road the safer all of us will be." After dispensing this sordid news, he went on with additional information and then he ended the briefing. "Okay, people, hit your beats," he urged and then left the room.

The sound of chairs scraping the floor could be heard as everyone stood to start getting ready to leave the room. Of course, the 'Freeway Phantom' was the main conversation among everybody...well, everybody but Ponch. Sure he was just as disgusted and on the alert as everyone else, but he also had his plans for Friday night that he had to get taken care of. He wanted to take care of it this morning if at all possible. However, he decided to wait until he could catch his prime target outside. He thought it would be safer that way.

Ponch followed his fellow officers as they filed out of the building and began heading for their respective units. Ponch spotted Stephanie standing by her motor. He stepped quickly up to her, but before he dared to speak, he took a cautious look around, "Ah, Steph, could I ask you something?"

"Sure, Ponch, what is it?"

"By any chance are you free Friday night? I'd like to have you come over for dinner. Jon and his...his girlfriend, Melissa are coming over. Maybe it'll help you to get to know Jon and I better---being off duty."

The woman looked thoughtful for a moment, "Sure! Why not?! Sure beats rattling around in my apartment. It'll break up the evening a little bit too. I'd like that, Ponch, thank you."

Ponch gave her his biggest grin, "Terrific!! Around seven? Would that be okay?"

"Sure, that'll be fine. Thanks again!"

"You bet!" Ponch exclaimed. Then as Jon was also sitting there on his bike, Ponch added, "You two be careful out there today. We never know when or where that creep is gonna strike next."

"You too, Ponch!" Baker urged as his friend turned to leave, "You too!" With that they started their motors signaling that the conversation was over. It was time for Jon and Stephanie to get going.

Ponch knew he'd better clear out before Getraer saw him still there too. So he quickly got on his bike and hit the road.

All officers whether on motorcycles or in cruisers kept their eyes open so as to watch out for the 'Freeway Phantom'. Everyone was on continual lookout for any vehicles that looked sporty or racy enough to suit their suspect.

It was later in the morning when a visual was made of a suspect vehicle. Bonnie decided to check out the sporty vehicle that was just ahead of her. She flipped on the overhead signaling the driver to pull over. Not knowing how the person behind the wheel would react, and just in case this could be the suspect she checked the distance between her cruiser and the car she wanted to stop. She didn't intend to unwittingly put herself in a trap--even though it was motorcycle officers the 'Phantom' seemed to be focusing on. Apparently, the driver didn't see her lights, so she flipped on her siren just for a moment, which naturally got the desired reaction. She saw the driver check out the rearview mirror, then flick on the turn signal to show that the car was moving onto the shoulder; Bonnie followed suit. As the officer cautiously stepped up to the driver's window, she found a young lady at the wheel. Bonnie silently breathed a sigh of relief, but that didn't mean she let down her guard.

"Officer, I wasn't speeding. Is something wrong?" the girl asked.

Bonnie couldn't help but smile, "No, Miss, you weren't speeding. We've had a lot of hit and run accidents on the freeways lately involving cars similar to yours, is all. Could I see your license, registration and insurance, please?"

"Umm, sure," she handed over the requested paperwork.

"I'll be right back." Bonnie returned to her car to radio dispatch, "LA 15 7 Charles. I need a check on a California reg. along with file and driver's record." She gave the information to the dispatcher so she could get the young lady checked out. LA came back that she was clean and the car definitely was hers. That was what Bonnie really wanted to find out.

"Here's your papers back," Bonnie told her as she returned back to young lady in the car. After speaking briefly with her, Bonnie sent her on her way and went back to her own car. All the officers were feeling a little more than jumpy about this ongoing 'Phantom' situation and that naturally included Bonnie.

With the suspect never using his own car, but always managing to steal one for each 'accident', the officers realized that they more than likely had to catch this guy in the act, somehow--preferably before another officer was injured. The question that remained was---how?

Stephanie and Jon were kept pretty busy themselves that day. It seemed as though people knew it was their beat and drivers just wanted to see how long it would take before they got caught speeding or stopped for a mechanical violation of some kind. Well, that's what the two motorcycle officers were beginning to think anyway.

Then LA came over the radio, "All units in the vicinity of 405, robbery suspect driving a silver Oldsmobile, partial California reg. of 7 Union, Sam, left scene two minutes ago heading eastbound." the dispatcher then gave what description they had of the suspect, which unfortunately, wasn't much.

Jon and Stephanie stayed on the road they were on knowing the suspect was heading their way. They kept their eyes on the eastbound traffic, hoping they'd catch a visual of him. Also, they hoped that another officer would be even closer.

It was only minutes when they heard Baricza's traffic, "LA 15 7 Adam in pursuit of possible robbery suspect."

"Ah, good ol' Bear, right place, right time," Jon gratefully told his partner.

It wasn't long before they picked up on the sound of Bear's siren. They continued on till they found an emergency exit and then sat there till both cars were in sight. Then they joined in the pursuit with lights and siren.

Their robbery suspect was driving like a lunatic. All pursuits are dangerous, not only for the officers involved, but also for any innocent civilian bystanders who just simply happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time--and when those being pursued cut in and out of traffic or do some other dumb fool thing that endangers everyone around them, split decisions have to be made.

Bear was still in the lead when he thought about doing the maneuver that could once and for all end this pursuit. The driver had just managed to exit the freeway and was now entering an even more dangerous area, as the pavement had changed to two-lane traffic. On top of all that, the posted traffic speeds were reduced to a slower speed. "LA, 15 7 Adam, requesting permission to end pursuit by attempting the pit maneuver on the pursuit vehicle."

"Stand by 7 Adam..." The dispatcher wanted to check with her sergeant on this one. She quickly filled him in on what was going on up to this point. Then she came back with, "7 Adam, LA, go ahead and attempt to end the pursuit using your discretion."

Bear felt that now was the time--while there was fewer cars on the road and before the suspect managed to get back on the freeway. It was now or never. It was a tricky maneuver and even though he had done it before every circumstance was different. He spotted an area he felt the maneuver would work and brought his car up to the backside of the suspect's vehicle on the driver's side. Then he bumped the car hard--so hard that it spun around, hit the curb and flipped over. The chase had ended without causing any harm to other innocent drivers. The officer quickly stopped his car and exited when the suspect--who had managed to climb out of his flipped vehicle--tried to run away.

As soon as Jon and Stephanie rolled up behind Baricza's unit they baled off their motorcycles and joined the foot chase. Bear chased the robbery suspect down and tackled him to the ground. Naturally, the fugitive fought him with all his might. That is until Jon and Stephanie joined in the fracas and successfully pinned him down so the handcuffs could be placed on his wrists.

Bear picked the prisoner up off the ground, "Mister...you're going to...jail for a lo-ong time." The man just snarled at him, not saying a word. As the officer walked back to put his captive in the back seat of his patrol car, he told the two with a little bit of heavy breathing, "Thanks...guys...for the...assist."

"Glad we could help. Just remember, you owe us one," Stephanie teased. Suddenly though a more serious look came over her face, she continued as she turned to walk away, "At least none of us got hurt because of this fool." Their job of assisting Bear was done, she returned to her motor--where she patiently waited for her partner.

The two male officers watched her walk away. "Man, I sure wish she'd let someone in on what's troubling her," Jon commented. It wouldn't be like we're trying to pry in her life or anything like that. Maybe we could help her get through it..."

"Yeah, but maybe she just wants to handle it herself for now."

"You're probably right," Baker agreed, "But from what I see, she's really not handing it alone all that well," he added and then went back to his motor and his partner.

Ponch had a pretty decent shift going for him. Other than the usual traffic stops and motorist assists, nothing really hair-raising had occurred. Well, as the saying goes, 'all good things must come to an end'.

At the moment Ponch was traveling down a two lane road. He had been off the freeway now for a number of miles--when LA came over the radio.

"Any units in the vicinity..." the dispatcher began.

But even before LA got to the point of her traffic, what Ponch saw up ahead made him shake his head. Traffic had stopped dead in its tracks. Ahead of him was a semi-tractor trailer that had somehow jack-knifed and was crosswise in the road. As it turned out, he was **right** 'in the vicinity' of LA's traffic. The officer quickly grabbed his radio's mic, "LA, 7 Mary 4. I'm on the scene. I'll need additional traffic assistance at my location." He placed his motor in a strategic position and quickly got the stopped vehicles turned around and headed back in the direction they came from. (Not really the best way for an officer to make friends). Before anymore cars came along, he ran up to the rig, "Hey, you all right?!" he asked the driver.

"Yeah, I guess I didn't realize this wouldn't be the best place to make a U-turn."

Ponch's jaw dropped, then he looked down the length of the trailer, 'This thing has **got** to be over fifty feet long!' he thought to himself. "U-turn sir?"

"Yeah," was the only word the guy said in response.

Ponch turned around in time to see more cars lining up. To his relief though, he also saw Bonnie come rolling up and it wasn't long before she had the traffic turned back around.

"I'll be right back," he told the truck driver and went over to talk with her. "Hey, thanks for the assist."

"No problem. What exactly went wrong here? Anyone hurt?"

"No one's hurt," he assured her. "As for what went wrong...the driver of the rig figured out he was heading in the wrong direction so he decided to make a U-turn."

Bonnie looked at him like he should be committed. "You're joking!" she stated more than asked, and motioned for the next driver to move up and turn back in the other direction.

"Nope, it'll take some time, but we'll get 'im straightened around...somehow."

"Well, let's get a move on! I've got a date tonight!" After that statement, she winked and then continued working on the traffic. Once she got the cars all turned around, she positioned herself in order to prevent any other cars to enter the area.

Ponch simply smiled, shook his head and went back to the rig. "Okay, you think you can get this thing turned around by yourself or are we going to have to call in the artillery."

"Well, it'll take some expert driving and some help from you to keep me from backing up too far and dropping into that ditch there. I'm carrying a forty-thousand pound payload back there and if I end up down in that ditch even a little..."

Ponch held up his hand to stop him, "We'll need more than the artillery to get you out."

"Yeah, now Officer, just stay in my mirrors okay, so I know **exactly** where you're at, at all times."

The guy didn't have to say that more than once. Being smacked by a semi-trailer wasn't exactly on Ponch's list of fun things to do.

With Ponch's expert guidance and some dandy maneuvering the driver managed to get his truck and some fifty-foot trailer facing the direction he wanted to go. It took quite some doing--and traffic was held up the entire time, but when it was finally over both CHP officers and the semi driver breathed a sigh of relief.

Now that the truck was no longer blocking the highway, Ponch relaxed a little. He went over to his motor to get his 'pinch' book out of his saddlebag. Granted, no one was injured, no other cars were involved, but it was just the whole 'reckless endangerment' part of it. He wrote out the citation as he spoke to the driver telling him **why** he was receiving the ticket. After the ticket was signed and the guy was sent on his way, Ponch and Bonnie returned to Central. It was time to do their reports.

After all that needed to be done was accomplished for the day, the day shift headed home, and gladly left the highways to the afternoon shift.


	4. Chapter 4

Vengeance of the Freeway Phantom

Chapter 4

Wednesday morning's briefing started out all too similar to the last few days. Only this particular morning, Getraer didn't have to warn his people to 'pipe down'. As he walked into the room, it quickly fell 'dead' silent as every last officer's strict attention was focused on him. Instantly, all of them could tell by the expression on his face that another officer was down.

"This is getting really old, people! A third officer was taken out by the suspect late yesterday afternoon. This time Stevenson may not be so lucky. I called the hospital this morning to get the status on him. He's..." his voice cracked a little, he cleared his throat before continuing, "he's still unconscious. From what I've been told he hasn't regained consciousness since the 'accident'. Again the car was a different color, but the typical fast, sporty type. Umm, the Captain is, ah, how should I put it, **absolutely** livid over the situation. He wants this guy off the streets and now!! So far only Grossman has managed to avoid getting caught in the snare, thanks to Baricza's quick warning. Again, people, should you spot a car that even remotely gives you the feeling that it could quite possibly be our guy, its fair game to at least be checked out. I don't need to tell you to be careful." Then he turned his attention to Ponch, "I wanna congratulate Frank on a tremendous drug and weapons bust." He joined in the applause with all the other officers there. Then he had to raise a hand to quiet everyone down. When the room finally did, he continued, "And Frank, thanks for getting all those weapons **before** they managed to hit the streets. As we all know, that will help save a lot of lives," he paused a moment, "some of those lives could very well be any police officer out there including all of you here." He stopped, clear his throat once again and then continued, "We have enough trouble out there right now with the 'Phantom' so we certainly don't need all those weapons coming up against us too." After that note he continued on with the briefing.

Once briefing was finished, Getraer dismissed everyone so he could retreat to his office. Joe was really beside himself about all that was happening out there on the highways. It really bugged him to think that someone out there had such a deep hatred for police officers that they would actually carry it out this far, not once, but four times. The next thing that bugged him was the guy didn't take a break. He kept it up each day for the past four days. But what really bothered him was the fact that the suspect has been successful three out of those four times--at seriously injuring his victims, which meant this 'Phantom' was extremely dangerous. Not only has this character been successful, but because of not being caught at it that could only make this guy braver and braver. Every single motor officer out there was in a perilous situation. It wasn't that Getraer had forgotten about the number of innocent civilians out there. No, Joe hadn't forgotten about them at all. It was just that he had his officers up at the forefront of his thoughts.

The Phantom's first victim was doing a little better now. True, the officer was terribly bruised from hitting the pavement and his dislocated shoulder would keep him out of commission for a while, but at least he was alive---very sore, but alive. Although the suspect seemed to be taking out officers of other shifts Joe knew his team of officers was not immune. The Phantom could pick on any one of them at any time. Grossman was the prime example of that fact. Grossie sure must have had a guardian angel in his back pocket that day. As he continued to reflect on this entire 'Phantom' business Getraer grimaced. He finally decided he'd better get to work. Unfortunately, even under the present circumstances, the world didn't stop turning, nor did the paperwork stop piling up on his desk.

The day had started out pretty warm and showed all the signs of getting even hotter, which only meant that any traffic snarls would also heat up the tempers of some of the motorists out there. True to form, that's exactly what happened. And Jon and Stephanie were right in the thick of it. As they rode on between the lanes of fairly slow moving traffic, suddenly it was no longer moving at all. They kept going down the highway by driving between cars to get to the area of whatever was holding up the traffic. Then they came upon a number of people that had actually gotten out of their vehicles and started a pushing and shoving match right in the traffic lanes. Both officers left their motors and quickly went up to the fracas to separate the parties involved.

"Hey, break it up!! Break it up right now!" Jon commanded the two that he stepped between.

Stephanie also managed to get between her two. She noted that one of the people opened his mouth to make a retort. However, she quickly squelched that idea.

"Officer, he--"

"Break it up now!" Stephanie shouted, stopping him in mid-speech.

Due to the 'scuffle' the traffic was gnarled. There wasn't any apparent accident, so after a quick question and answer session it was noted as a simple, but bad case of road rage, which the CHP officers managed to interrupt--before it escalated into something potentially serious. The matter was taken care of and with both officers' assistance, traffic slowly, but progressively returned to back to normal.

They cleared up the last of this latest traffic snafu and as they were getting back on their motors, Stephanie commented, "We sure timed that one perfectly."

"Yeah, another five minutes and I think we would have added four more to the county jail," Jon replied as he fixed his helmet strap.

"Or one of us to the hospital," she added. Then they started their motors and got back on the highway.

As Jon rode beside Stephanie he wanted to so badly know what was troubling her. However, he had only known the officer for a few days now and he just wasn't sure if it wouldn't still be prying. But there definitely was something bothering this young woman. Baker thought about the 'little get together between friends' that Ponch had planned for Friday night. Maybe it was a good idea after all. It just might help her to get to know them better--under more informal circumstances--and it just may be what she needs. He began to feel much more at ease with the whole idea. 'Leave it to Ponch,' he quietly thought.

As the afternoon was now drawing to a close, many of the day-shift officers decided to head for the beach when their shift ended. They all felt a real need to relax and cool down. Once everyone finally arrived at the agreed upon location, a picnic area was quickly set up. It turned out that Joe Getraer, his wife Betty and their children also came. They were quickly voted in as the barbecue chefs while everyone else, including their kids, left them behind for a nice, cool, relaxing swim.

Betty, of course, kept a watchful eye on her children. She knew she had nothing to worry about because it seemed there was always someone looking out for them. No matter how many times she'd been involved in some kind of get together with her husband's fellow officers she couldn't help but think of how wonderful they all were. Joe was their boss and all of them seemed to look up to him. They respected him for his position, but mostly considered him as a trusted friend. She was really grateful for that.

Once the food was cooked, eaten, scraps taken care of and the area cleaned up, it was time for fun and games. A little volleyball, 'touch' football and tag (just so the kids could get involved). In the end, everyone had a wonderful time. Then reality set in and it was time to head home. Tomorrow was a whole new day.


	5. Chapter 5

Vengeance of the Freeway Phantom

Chapter 5

The following morning, while all the officers were waiting for briefing to begin, many were caught up in the laughter at some of the poor victims who were suffering from the effects of the California sunshine from last night's picnic. Grossman's face mirrored a tomato, but there were a number of others that came pretty close to matching his description. He also made sure no one came even close enough to slap him on the back. He hoped he'd be able to make it through the day without having to do any roughhousing with any of the "general" public.

Getraer finally walked into the room, which immediately quieted down. His face once again spoke volumes. "Okay, people, I just found out that we lost Stevenson earlier this morning. He...he never came out of the coma. Stevenson's been with the department for fifteen years," he paused briefly to collect himself. There was more he wanted to say, but at the moment all he could think of was getting that crazed lunatic off the highway. "People, the Captain wants this guy--and he wants him **now**!!! But **no one** wants this guy more than I do!" he pointed at himself in an angry manner, showing just how incensed he was. Then he continued, "The charge of vehicular homicide has now been added to the already long list of charges against this guy and we have no idea who we're dealing with. This 'Phantom' seems to be only targeting the CHP, and we don't even know why! He's picking us off one at a time people. He uses different highways, different times of day **and** stolen vehicles. And that is all we have to go on. I can't emphasize it enough, if you find yourself having to deal with a situation, and you somehow manage to smell a trap, back off!! Just **get out of the way**...if you can." Getraer then got into the more somber details of the morning. "Stevenson's wife Kathy and son will be staying at her parent's home till the funeral. I'll announce the arrangements as soon as I get them." He continued the briefing on other notes. After he was done, he dismissed everybody but two, "Jon, Frank, in my office."

"Okay, Sarge," they answered almost in unison.

Both officers went straight from the Briefing room to Getraer's office. But when they stepped up to the doorway both of them stopped. Their sergeant was standing at the window, totally unaware of their presence. He just stood there, sadly shaking his head. Then suddenly, he slammed his fist down on the cabinet that was beside him. Getraer couldn't help but think of the senselessness of this whole situation. Why can't they nail this guy?!! How many more officers were going to be injured, or...?!

"Joe, you wanted to see us?" Jon asked. Apparently, Getraer was so deep in thought he hadn't heard him. "Ah, Joe..."

Getraer finally turned, cleared his throat and waved them on into the room. "Jon, Frank, come in and sit down."

Whenever they were offered a seat it generally was because they were in some sort of trouble or Joe really needed them to do something important. With the news they had just learned at the briefing, both of them had a feeling it was the latter.

"Jon, Frank, I need both of you to take part in the honor guard part of the funeral. As I mentioned in briefing, we don't know when it is, but the Captain asked that I request two of my best motor officers to represent our shift," Getraer paused and pointed at them, "that means you two."

"Sure, Joe, no problem, we'll be there," Jon replied as both he and Ponch looked at each other nodding their heads in complete agreement.

"Okay, good. I'll let you two and everybody else know the details as soon as I'm told."

"Okay, Sarge," Ponch replied.

Then Jon spoke up, "Joe, we are going to get this guy."

Getraer looked up at both officers, "Yeah, and let's do that before he gets a chance to injure, or God forbid kill another officer. Now go hit your beats."

Both young men simply nodded once again in agreement and then silently left the room. Joe stared at them as they left. He found himself wondering who was going to be the Phantom's next victim. He couldn't help but shudder at the very thought.

Ponch and Jon met Stephanie out in the hallway. Both could tell by the expression on her face that she was more than likely still reeling from the effects of hearing about the death of the fellow officer. She looked as if she was in a daze.

"Hey, you okay" her partner asked in a worried tone. He didn't get a reaction. "Stephanie?" he gently shook her shoulder.

"Huh? Oh...sorry, Jon, did you say something?"

"Yeah, are you okay?" Jon repeated. Both he and Ponch were extremely worried about how distracted she still seemed to look.

"Yeah...ah, no, I'm feeling a little off my feet, I guess. Ah, Jon, I've gotta go talk to Getraer. I've gotta see if I can take the day off. I really don't think I'd be any good out there today. I certainly wouldn't want to put you or any other officer at risk because I can't focus today, " she announced, and then quickly turned to head to Getraer's office, leaving the two friends standing there in a state of confusion. Stephanie just couldn't contain her emotions anymore. If she hadn't turned her back to them as quickly as she did, she would have lost it right there and she didn't want to do that.

She approached the open doorway to Getraer's office and saw him looking down at his paperwork. It appeared to her that the man really wasn't seeing what he was looking at. 'He's in a daze, too...' she thought and realized that he also had been blind-sided by this crazy 'Phantom' guy. She cleared her throat, "Uh, Sergeant Getraer?" That didn't get his attention. "Sergeant?!" she spoke up a little louder, and this time he looked up to see her standing there.

"Oh Stephanie, come in." He took a really good look at her face. "Is something wrong?" he wondered and then thought, 'Dumb question.'

"Sarge, I...I think I need to take today off. I...I just don't think I'd be any good out there today. I just can't deal..."

"Listen Stephanie, I understand this 'Phantom' character along with the death of Stevenson, isn't helping you in dealing with your **own** loss. I'd really hate to lose you today, however, if your judgment is telling you that you'd be endangering yourself and your partner because you wouldn't be thinking clearly, I think I can deal with that. Just try to get yourself pulled together okay? I need you back here tomorrow."

"Okay, Sarge, I'll...I'll try," she vowed and then walked out of his office, hoping she wouldn't meet up with either Jon or Ponch. She snuck out the back door and started her trip home.

Getraer watched her as she left his office. He didn't like having one of his officer's leave like this, but he knew in Stephanie's case it really wouldn't be a good idea to have her out on the highways. As distracted as she obviously was she could very easily become the Phantom's next victim.

He stepped out of his office, hoping to find a certain couple of officers. With any luck they'd still be in the building, more than likely waiting for Stephanie's return. Before long Joe spotted them, "Jon, Frank, I need you two to double up today."

Both men looked at each other, but it was Jon who spoke up, "Us two? Where's Stephanie?"

"She went home."

"Home? Well, she did say she wasn't feeling so good," Jon admitted.

"Okay, so go on hit the bricks will yah!" Getraer didn't really want to give them a chance to question further as to the reason why Stephanie had gone home.

"Okay, okay, we're goin' already!" Ponch retorted, as both he and Jon headed out the exit.

Stephanie was, er, well, she seemed to be fine before briefing. But, again, they figured it had to be this Phantom thing and now the death of Jim Stevenson. It was actually getting to be more than they could even handle. But they had to move on, so they got on their motors and were just about ready to head out of the parking lot.

But for a moment or two, both officers were lost in their own thoughts. Neither of them was blind to the fact that something else had to be definitely troubling their fellow officer--and new found friend as well. Both men wanted to help the woman, but couldn't because they were clueless as to what was wrong.

Ponch was the first to break the silence just as they started their motors to head out, "What do yah say we head over to Stephanie's sometime today. You know, just to check to make sure she **is** okay and also to make sure we're still on for tomorrow night."

As they slowly headed toward the end of the driveway to get on the highway where they stopped, Jon couldn't help but smile, "Ponch, the lady isn't feeling well. It may not be such a good idea to intrude."

"Intrude?!! We're not intruding! Okay, we'll call it a 'welfare check'. We're just checking on her well being, okay? There's nothing wrong with that."

Jon quickly realized his partner wasn't going to change his mind on this one. Well, as usual when Ponch latched onto an idea, he was like a pit bull and wouldn't let go, no matter how hard Jon tried to get him to drop the idea. So Baker simply resigned himself to that very fact, "All right, Ponch, you win." He turned to see his partner's toothy grin.

"I always do, partner." Then they got on the highway and proceeded on patrol

After traveling quite a few miles, in his right side mirror Jon spotted a car coming up from behind them, but two lanes over. As he and Ponch were as usual riding side by side he got Ponch's attention and pointed in that direction. As the vehicle was going well over the speed limit it passed by them quite quickly. They immediately checked to make sure they could move over to that lane and then as soon as they could they worked their way up behind it, turned on their lights, signaling the driver to stop.

When the driver finally spotted the flashing lights behind him, he had to forcibly hold himself in check. The man steered the car over to the shoulder and waited for the inevitable.

This time, Ponch took the driver's side. He carefully studied the sporty looking vehicle as he walked up to the car. "Morning, sir," he said, as he stepped up to the driver's open window.

"Officer," the driver acknowledged as he bit his lip.

"Sir, we stopped you because you were traveling well over the posted speed limit. May I see your license, registration and insurance please?"

"Sure." The speeder than gathered and then handed over the requested paperwork. As he did, he made a mental note of the officer's nameplate. Well, at least he tried.

"Thank you. I'll be back in a minute," Ponch promised and went back to his motor to call it in to dispatch.

While the man's driving record was being checked out, he sat in his car-- absolutely fuming! His hatred for cops and everything they stood for just moved up an extra notch...or two. The man quickly decided that he had just found his next victim. Yes, unknowingly, both Ponch and Jon had stumbled quite innocently upon the 'Freeway Phantom'. But it was the officer that was going to give him the ticket that he wanted.

As the psycho sat there, he burned the CHP officer's name into his memory, well, part of it anyway. Poncher--something or other. Fortunately, he'd gotten a very good look at the officer's face as well. Then he smiled when he realized the officer's name would be on the ticket.

Ponch finally came back to the driver's window and handed him the ticket book for his signature. Ponch gave the guy his own personal copy of the citation, along with his papers and then turned him loose.

Before the Phantom drove away, he looked at the paper and sort of figured out how to pronounce the officer's name, and then he crumpled up the paper and threw it on the floor. "That pig is **mine**!" he yelled. He was glad that he had been driving his own vehicle. But then again, even if he had been driving a stolen one, he would have simply led those two Chippies on a merry chase. A chase that he would have made **sure** ended up exactly like the others--with one or perhaps both kissing the pavement. Now, the Phantom had some very serious thinking to do. He had to start formulating a plot of revenge. He headed for home to calm himself down, clear his head and get busy planning. The Phantom figured this would be a challenge, although a welcomed challenge.

As Ponch and Jon walked back to their motors, they made the decision to take the time to check on Stephanie. So they went roaring off the highway towards their new destination.

The two motorcycle officers arrived at their colleague's home and knocked on the door. As they stood there waiting, both noticed how quiet the house seemed to be. Stephanie finally met them at the door and greeted them with a somewhat shaky voice, "...Hey guys, what's up?" she asked, hoping they could see past her fake smile.

"Stephanie, sorry to bother you, we just wanted to make sure you were all right," Jon told her as diplomatically as he could.

"Oh, I'm doing a little better, thanks," she somewhat fibbed. She bit her lip as she knew she had to get a hold of herself. The world continued on and she had to learn to move on with it. It was just that it was a lot harder than she thought it would ever be.

Then it was Ponch's turn, a little less diplomatically, of course, "Then we're still on for tomorrow night?"

She couldn't help but smile at his boyish, toothy expression, "Ponch, actually I honestly think it's something I really do need right now."

"Good, tomorrow night it is," he quickly confirmed.

"All right, Stephanie, if you're certain everything's okay. We just wanted to make sure," Jon was more concerned about how she was doing then he was about Ponch's dinner 'date' tomorrow night.

"Sure, I'm doing okay and again thanks for checking. I'll see you guys tomorrow," then she closed the door.

As they walked back to their motors, Ponch couldn't help but comment, "Jon, I'm glad she didn't change her mind about tomorrow night."

"So am I. But I sure wish she'd level with us, er, somebody anyhow. Whatever she's got bottled up inside can't be good for her," Baker added, and then both men started their motors and headed back on the highway.

As they continued on their way Ponch added, a little louder to be heard over the sound of both engines, "Well, maybe after tomorrow night she'll feel more comfortable around us. Even if it's something we can't really help her with, we at least could listen and let her get it off her chest!"

"Yeah, but it'll have to be all up to her and her alone!!" Jon responded.

When the Freeway Phantom arrived at his apartment, he couldn't get that cop off his mind. He walked over to the couch, clenching and unclenching his fists. He wanted him bad, so bad he decided he didn't care if he 'took him out' on or off duty. That sudden little revelation intrigued him as it would be a nice change. He figured he'd have to change his strategy though. When he started this, it was **any **cop that simply got in his way while he was out on the freeways. He didn't care who in particular it was, it didn't matter--it was just a cop. This guy, though, **he** was a special project. He'd take some figuring out as to how it could be done. He'd need to be patient on this one, as he needed to do some planning, which included learning more about this guy. If it turned out that he'd end up doing it while he was off duty, he'd have to find out where he lived, the car he drove and maybe a few other things. So that evening he spent thinking that in time a plan would form. But this was one time he really hoped his imagination wouldn't fail him. It wouldn't.

Back at Central all the officers were glad their day had passed without any mishaps, er, any problems as far as the Phantom was concerned. But there still was the afternoon and midnight shifts and those seemed to be the Phantom's favorite targets at the moment. Right now, everyone was just concerned about finishing up their reports so they could head for home. As usual, there was the continual humorous banter between Grossman and the others. Well, that is until Sergeant Getraer walked in.

"Jon, Frank, come to my office before you leave, okay?" Joe requested.

"Sure," they replied almost in unison.

No one in the room had missed the look on their senior officer's face. Whatever their sergeant wanted to talk to Ponch and Jon about it seemed to be something on a sad note. Then they realized he probably had some news about the funeral that he wanted to fill them in on.

The two summoned men quickly finished their paperwork then headed to Getraer's office. As they entered his office, Jon asked, "Joe, you wanted to see us?"

Both young men saw the look on Getraer's face hadn't changed and he was now drumming the end of his pen while appearing miles away. Then it suddenly occurred to him that they were in the room, "Huh, oh yeah. Ah, Jon, Frank, I've been requested to have you two in full-dress uniform for Stevenson's funeral on Sunday. The ceremony is at 11 am. But you'd better be there at least an hour or so earlier. Oh, you may want to join the others at Patterson's Funeral Home on Saturday afternoon around 4 to go over the details."

"Ah, Joe, how's Kathy doing?" Ponch asked with a very concerned look on his face.

"About as well as can be expected under the circumstances, I guess. Betty's been trying to help her out with the funeral arrangements and other details as much as she can. She doesn't think it's really hit her yet. She's afraid reality will hit at the funeral." Joe paused a moment, "All I can say is we'd better get this guy soon...**real** soon."

"We'll be there Saturday afternoon and then early Sunday for the funeral," Jon told him, then both men left his office to begin their trek home for the evening.

Ponch already had ideas in mind for what he was going to have for dinner Friday night. He just had to go shopping tonight to pick everything up and then get it ready so he could just put it in the oven tomorrow night. So after he had arrived home after his shift he quickly changed into his street clothes and then climbed into his Firebird for the drive to the grocery store.

Driving his own sporty looking car got him to thinking about the past few days, the injured officers along with the death and upcoming funeral of Jim Stevenson. Why? Why was this guy doing this to **them**? Sure a lot of people disliked, yes, even hated cops for one reason or another. That was a given. Yes, there were those that 'hated' everything cops stood for. Every officer knew this. But for someone to have that much hatred to carry out something like this was still hard to comprehend. The person or persons had to have a vendetta against the Highway Patrol for some reason. That was the only logical explanation. Well, the only one Ponch was able to come up with at the moment anyway. The whole thing was very unnerving.

His train of thought was broken when he heard the short blip of a siren coming from behind. Well, he knew he wasn't speeding, exactly. Well, maybe a couple miles over, but not enough to warrant a cop to pull him over. It had to be something else. He pulled the car onto the shoulder and brought it to a complete stop. As he watched the officer cautiously walk up to his car he placed both hands on the wheel, something most people don't realize how important that is. But **he** knew that was the safest place for them to be for himself, as well as serving as a **non**-threatening position for the officer.

The officer was now at his window and he greeted the motorist, "Afternoon, sir." As the driver turned towards him, they both recognized each other. "Ponch! Ah, sorry to pull you over like this, man. How you doin'?"

'Terrific!" Ponch answered him with a broad grin. Then it suddenly dawned on him as to **why** the officer pulled him over. "Ah, it's the car, isn't it?"

The officer couldn't help but smile, "Yeah, that Phantom does have us **all** pretty jumpy."

"No kidding!"

"Hey, I won't hold you any longer, Ponch, have a good evening."

"Yeah, you too...and be careful tonight." Ponch definitely hoped this CHP officer was going to go home safe and sound after his shift. Then the officer stepped out of the way and Ponch moved his car back on the road leaving the patrolman to walk back to his vehicle.

Upon arriving at the market, Ponch quickly found and paid for the ingredients he needed. He didn't want to take too long because he wanted to get home so he could start working on preparing his dinner items for tomorrow night.

As soon as he arrived back at his apartment, he put on the TV and then got busy in the kitchen. It wouldn't be long before the local news came on. When it finally did, the first piece of news naturally started out with the death of Officer Jim Stevenson.

Ponch dropped what he was doing so he could listen intently. The report began, "The California Highway Patrol Officer, Jim Stevenson, died early this morning from injuries he received when he was involved in a hit and run. Officer Stevenson was the third officer involved in the recent apparent highway attacks on CHP officers. From what we've learned, the unknown suspect seems to steal a car and then use it to create a highway accident involving numerous vehicles and **always **a motorcycle CHP officer. Officer Stevenson was a fifteen year veteran and leaves behind his wife of five years and his one year old son." Then he added, "If anyone sees anything suspicious regarding any sporty, revved up looking vehicle, please contact the CHP Central Division."

The part of the report about Jim's little boy made Ponch's eyes water and his jaw tighten. The captain and Getraer weren't the only ones that wanted this guy. He had to force himself to go back to the kitchen to try to finish up what he had started. He had to remind himself of the reason for his doing this. The dinner party was being held because Stephanie was troubled about something and, as a fellow officer and friend, she had to learn that he and Jon wanted to help her...if they could...if she'd even let them. After today, with her leaving work, Ponch figured that whatever was bothering her had to be something pretty big. He assumed that her problem didn't have to do **just** with the Phantom and what he was doing to them. He felt there was just too many subtle hints that she was giving them.


	6. Chapter 6

Vengeance of the Freeway Phantom

Chapter 6

Friday morning found the 'Freeway Phantom' hidden in some very tall, thick bushes a safe distance away from the Central Division parking lot. He knew that from this vantage point, he could very easily see the Chippies comings and goings without anyone being the wiser. A number of uniformed officers had already arrived that morning to cover their shift, but his pigeon hadn't yet made his appearance. After taking a quick check of the time, the Phantom wondered if 'Ponch' wasn't working today or if he was just running a little late. Well, it seemed to the Phantom he was running late anyway. He'd barely finished that thought when another motor officer came in, parked and then headed for the building. As the officer removed his helmet, he was quickly recognized as the Phantom's next target. Now all the lurker had to do was sit tight and wait for his next victim, er, this 'Ponch' to return to his motor, then he'd trail him a little and see what highway he'd be covering. The Phantom knew this was only the beginning.

As Ponch entered the building, he hoped to find Jon and Stephanie around...somewhere. He was a little earlier than usual, which surprised a few of the officers that were there. They always enjoyed the usual growling, er, chewing out Ponch got from Getraer when he'd attempt--but always failed miserably--to sneak into briefing on those 'late for work' days.

Even Getraer, who was in his office standing at one of his filing cabinets spotted him as he looked through his doorway and wondered, "Hey, Frank, what's up?!"

Ponch had just stepped past his sergeant's doorway when he heard his name, so he backed up a might, "Nothing's up, Sarge. Why you ask??" he was rather confused by the question.

"You're here earlier than usual, Frank. Does this mean I can expect you on time at briefing this morning?"

Frank quickly decided that now was not the time to be flippant. "Sure, Sarge," he vowed and then quickly moved on. The first room he checked was the break room and that's where he found his friends. "Hey, Stephanie, Jon! Let's hope this stays a great morning. Feeling better, Stephanie?"

She just couldn't help but smile at the dashing young officer's warm greeting. She found his smile rather contagious. "Yes, I am doing better Ponch, thanks." She finished her coffee and commented further as she got up from the table, "I'll see both of you at briefing."

"Sure," both men agreed.

"Ponch, Melissa wanted me to ask if you'd like us to come a little early tonight, ah, just on the off chance you needed help in the kitchen," Baker grinned when Ponch's face lit up with acceptance of the idea.

"That would be great, Jon!" Then he took a quick look at his watch and added, "Ah, c'mon, we're gonna be late!"

The two men made it into the Briefing room with only seconds to spare, which of course, didn't go unnoticed by Getraer, as he entered the room. "Frank, you got here ahead of schedule this morning and you **still **managed to almost be late for briefing!" he quickly put up a hand to silence any excuses. The sergeant just wasn't in the mood to hear them. "Never mind, Frank, never mind."

Then Getraer got rolling on the briefing. He wanted his people out on their beats, hoping at least that one of them would somehow stumble onto the Phantom---without injury, of course. The freeway felon was the number one item of the morning. "Okay, for one reason or other we caught a break last night as the Phantom must've laid low. So keep your heads up and both eyes open. He quite possibly could dog our shift today. Remember, if you smell a trap back off. I don't want to hear any 'officer down' traffic." He continued on with another item or two and then dismissed the officers. so everyone began filing from the room, in route to their units.

Before Ponch could make it to the door Grossie tapped him on the shoulder and commented, "Looks like you're on Getraer's list again, Ponch."

"Grossie, I've been on his list for the last five years," Ponch told him with a wide grin. His comment made those around him laugh heartily, then they continued on outside to their respective units.

As the officers exited the building, the Phantom watched closely from his vantage point to make sure he could pick out his pigeon. It turned out that Ponch was one of the last few to come outside. His target was with a tall blonde guy and a brunette woman. The latter two parted company from his mark to go to their own motors. Ponch was all set to leave the parking lot.

The Phantom swiftly jogged to his own vehicle and was ready to get behind the man on the motorcycle. The first part of his plan was simply to learn a little bit about this officer. How he handled his motorcycle under the various situations he may find himself in. Would Ponch be as easy to take down as the others seemed to have been? Would this particular officer take just any bait offered him and fall into his trap? He never bothered to ask himself these questions before. But the other times he simply took the officer out that happened to be there at the time. There wasn't anything special he had to do. This time, he didn't want to take the chance on failure. This one was going **down**.

The Phantom kept a respectable distance and followed Ponch for some time. Suddenly, his prey sped up and took the next exit. He figured something must have been happening somewhere down on another highway. The Phantom also took the off ramp, yet still kept far enough behind so as not to be noticed.

As soon as Ponch got on the next freeway, he picked up even more speed. The Phantom quickly realized he had to back off as the officer he had intended on following quickly disappeared. He didn't dare try to follow, not at the speed his target was travelling. He didn't want to risk getting into the sites of another officer and get pulled over again**. **The predator wasn't too upset though, he figured he'd be able to pick up his prey again sometime later that day and if not today, there was always tomorrow. Besides, he knew he could wait for Ponch to finish his shift and then follow him home. That would be the next step. Life--and his plan would go on. Besides there were other things he could do today.

Ponch had been dispatched to assist Baricza who was involved in assisting traffic around some boxes that were creating a traffic hazard. The objects were blocking the freeway's second and third lanes. Unknown to the officers, the boxes had basically been thrown in the back of a large dump truck, but had not been secured enough to keep them inside. The driver had apparently been clueless as to his spilled load and had simply kept right on going. Baricza already had dispatch get in touch with Caltrans for cleanup detail. In the meantime, he and Ponch dealt with the traffic detail. When the Caltrans personnel finally arrived on scene, traffic was stopped for a while so the men could work free of worry about being hit by any motorists. Once all the debris was removed, both officers got traffic going again.

As traffic was no longer tied up, both Baricza and Ponch breathed a sigh of relief. Bear was first to speak up, "Man, we're lucky we didn't have a horrible MVA on this one by cars shifting lanes to avoid all these boxes."

"Yeah! What I can't figure out is why the person carrying this junk didn't stop. He had to have seen the boxes falling."

"Would you have stopped?" Bear asked him with a grin. He didn't get an answer as Ponch just grinned and returned to his motor.

Then Ponch notified LA that he was clear the traffic hazard and Baricza followed suit.

Jon and Stephanie were covering their territory for that day when dispatch came over the radio, "LA to any units available and on 15, identify. We have a two car TC (traffic crash) just south of Broadway. Cars are blocking lane one."

"7 Mary 3 and 6 responding, we're two away," Jon acknowledged. Then both officers put on the emergency flashers and picked up speed.

The accident turned out to be minor as far as injuries were concerned. However, both cars were somewhat disabled. The way they had collided had caused considerable damage to the front fender of one vehicle and caused it to buckle in such a way that it hampered the tire from turning. The other vehicle had a leaking radiator. So, along with a couple of tow trucks being called in, the fire department was also called in to take care of the fluid. Once that was all taken care of, Jon and Stephanie continued on their way down the highway.

True to his word, the Phantom had returned to his hiding place later that afternoon. He arrived just in time to see his target return. Then, he simply waited for Ponch to completely finish up whatever it was that he had to do. He intended to follow this pigeon to his nest, er, his home.

As Ponch headed to the Report room, Grossman spotted him, "Hey, Ponch, got anything planned for tonight? If not, wanna go to the gym...?"

"Can't Grossie, got some 'friends' coming over tonight," Ponch told him with a grin.

Grossie totally misunderstood his response, "Ohhh, you're having some of the guy's over for poker and I'm not invited. I get it." It appeared that his nose was a little out of joint.

Ponch smiled and shook his head, "No, Grossie!" Then he lowered his voice considerably, "Jon, his girlfriend and Stephanie are coming over, that's all."

"Ohhh, okay," Grossman paused a moment, then continued as he looked around, "Why you whispering?"

Ponch just looked at him, then took a step or two toward the room, then turned back, "Grossie? Ah, never mind." Ponch didn't think he had to go into detail on this with Grossman, not right now. He just wanted to finish his reports and then head home to get things started for this evening's dinner. He was glad for the help Melissa offered. He wanted everything to be perfect.

After parting company with Grossman, he went straight into the room to get started. It wasn't long before Jon and Stephanie came in, both looking a little haggard, which Ponch immediately noticed as soon as they walked in. "Uh oh, somethin' tells me it got kind of rough out there today," he stated more than questioned.

"You might say that," was all Stephanie replied, with a deep sigh.

Jon grabbed the necessary numbered report sheets before taking his seat across from her. "Yeah, between kids on skateboards, one and two car minor accidents one right after the other, traffic hazards and all sorts of other crazy things that could have, er, did happen, you might say it was a rough day," Baker summed up with a sigh.

"Well, you guy's will get a chance to relax for a while at my place tonight. A great meal, soft music..."

"Ah huh, and pretty ladies knocking on your door every five minutes for a cup of sugar," Jon couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head.

Ponch gave him a dirty look, "Jon...just do your reports." That comment only made his blonde friend chuckle even harder.

As soon as he finished, Ponch stood up, "I'll see you guys later, okay?"

"Sure, Ponch," both Stephanie and Jon answered.

The officer left as quickly as he could so he could put the paperwork on Getraer's desk. Ponch then beat a hasty retreat out of the building to begin his ride home, totally unaware that his every move was being watched and soon to be tailed as he got out on the highway.

The Phantom entered the highway a safe distance behind him. Although he didn't want to lose his target in traffic, he didn't want to put him on alert either. It was only a few more miles so he just calmly stayed in the lane he was in and kept a wary eye on the motorcycle up ahead.

The pigeon finally took an off ramp and the Phantom's black Camero turned off as well. It was only a few more miles than Ponch turned into his apartment complex parking lot and drove into the tenant's parking area. As for the Phantom, he parked his car near the driveway entrance Ponch took and then watched as he disappeared inside the building. He waited there about ten minutes then he turned into the parking lot and parked the car in such a way that if circumstances called for it, he could make a hasty get away. He kept the car running as he entered the building. He found the mailbox area, so he made a fast search to find his prey's Post Office Box which would also have Ponch's apartment number. Turns out his apartment was right on the first floor, so he quickly left the building for his car and then home. He had some more thinking to do. His sole purpose for doing this was so he could be prepared for either situation. Whether he would take care of his pigeon while he was on-duty or off. He just felt better knowing where he lived so if he had to he could start his watch from there.

Back in Ponch's apartment, he quickly changed into a navy blue pair of dress slacks and a soft blue shirt, and then headed for the kitchen. First thing he had to do was put the meat in the oven. Then he had some little stuff to take care of. He was just starting to work on the second 'little' item when the phone rang. "Ah, man, why now?" he complained out loud. He knew he had to answer it, "Hello."

"Ponch, its Jon, Melissa wanted me to call to see if you needed anything."

Ponch's quick thinking mind never failed him, "Yeah, help!!"

"I take it you want us to come right now?"

"Yeah, could you...please?"

Jon couldn't help but chuckle, "Okay, we'll be there in about twenty minutes."

"Thanks!" The conversation ended and they hung up.


	7. Chapter 7

Vengeance of the Freeway Phantom

Chapter 7

It wasn't long before Jon and Melissa knocked on the door. Ponch quickly finished what he was doing then went to answer the door. He saw that Melissa was holding what definitely would serve as a centerpiece on the table.

"Hi guys! Hey, Melissa, that's beautiful!"

"Thanks. I thought we might spruce up the table a little."

"Ahh, that's terrific!"

When Jon saw how much Ponch already had done, he just shook his head, "So you needed our help, huh, Ponch." It was more of a statement than a question.

Ponch grinned as he parted the two candles he already had in the center of the table to make room for the colorful centerpiece. "Stephanie should really like them too."

Melissa followed him into the kitchen, while Jon checked out some of his choice of music. Baker found something he thought would be soft and relaxing, it was.

Around 6:15 or so there was another knock on the door, which Ponch went to answer, naturally, it was Stephanie.

"Hey, c'mon in!"

"Thanks, Ponch, hope I'm not too early."

"Are you kidding?! C'mon, you can meet and get to know Jon's girlfriend, Melissa. He led her to the living room where Jon and Melissa were sitting on the couch. "Stephanie, this is Melissa Talbot, Melissa, this is Stephanie Wilkes."

"Hi Melissa, very nice to meet you."

"Same here, Stephanie." Then both women shook hands.

All four were now sitting down with the two women chatting with each other like they'd known one another for a long time. The time flew by so fast that Ponch suddenly jumped up, "Sorry, I think it's time to get everything on the table. Excuse me." Actually, both women also got up at the same time to assist, so everything was made ready and on the table in no time.

The food was great; the conversation was light and funny. Ponch really enjoyed hearing Stephanie laugh. Her laughter served as a sign that she really appreciated this 'night out'.

As for Stephanie, this time away from work and home was exactly what she felt she needed. Being able to get to know the real Jon and Ponch off the job and in a much more relaxed atmosphere was nice. She quickly realized that Ponch truly was a great guy. He seemed like such a kind and gentle man, both on and off duty. In some ways he reminded her of her late husband. Of course, Jim was a little more on the quieter side, but he certainly did have a sense of humor.

Stephanie had been so deep in thought at the moment that she hadn't heard Ponch's first attempt at getting her attention. So he tried a second time, "Stephanie! Hey, you okay?"

"Huh, oh yes, I'm sorry. Caught me in la la land, I guess," she apologized with a smile.

He smiled right back at her, "I hope the food's not too spicy."

"Ah, no! Everything's delicious Ponch," she told him truthfully, then went back to her meal. She quietly reprimanded herself for being caught in her reverie.

The dinner conversation was pleasant and naturally at times, comical. Then once the meal was done, both women offered to do the dishes, but since Ponch wouldn't allow that they simply help to clean up the table, leaving everything in or by the sink. Ponch figured the dishes could wait, as he wanted everyone in the living room where they could just sit, relax and continue their conversations.

Melissa found that she really liked Stephanie a lot. She found her very friendly and easy to get to know. She didn't even seem to mind answering her questions. Well, she had to admit both of them seemed curious about each other. But as the saying goes, 'all good things must come to an end'.

Jon was the first one to realize how late it was, "Melissa, I think it's time I take you home. I've gotta get up early in the morning."

"Oh sure," she readily agreed.

Ponch walked them to the door, "Thanks for coming, guys."

"Hey, it was great, Ponch," Jon told him.

Then after a brief, quiet exchange, Jon and Melissa left. Ponch went back to the living room, but Stephanie was nowhere to be seen. Then he heard the sound of dishes clanking and water running. "Stephanie, you don't need..."

"I'm not leaving here till these are done, Ponch," she told him in a no nonsense tone, albeit, with a smile. She felt it was the least she could do in return for the nice evening she had.

He returned her smile, "Okay, you wash, I'll dry."

Those words **really** struck a nerve. Stephanie did all she could to keep her smile in place. She just couldn't help remembering, 'How many times did Jim say that very phrase?' She shook her head trying to get her thoughts back to reality.

Ponch caught her distant look, "Hey, you okay?"

"Huh, oh yeah, I'm fine."

They were just about done with all the dishes, when the phone rang. Ponch left her to go answer it, "Hello?"

"Ponch, its Jon, you have the TV on?" Baker assumed that his friend was alone by now.

"No, why?"

"Hurry and turn it on to channel seven. See yah tomorrow."

Ponch hung up the phone and then turned on the TV. As he did, Stephanie walked into the room. "What's up?"

"Dunno. Jon just called to tell me to turn on the TV."

At the moment there was the usual string of commercials, then the news finally came on. The newscaster came back on the screen, "Another multiple car accident occurred on the 405 earlier this evening. A total of six cars," at that point the film taken of the accident scene came on the screen, then the newscaster continued, "and a motorcycle CHP officer was involved. According to what witnesses told police, they now have no doubt that this accident was caused, once again, by the suspect police have nicknamed the Freeway Phantom."

Ponch was so tuned in to the news that he was totally unaware that Stephanie had turned away and was trying very hard to quiet her sobbing. He wanted to find out about the officer, who it was and possibly how bad he was injured.

The newscaster continued, "Five people were injured including Officer Anthony Ortega who is in critical condition at Rampart General Hospital. The accident is still under investigation." The reporter continued on with the rest of late news.

When Ponch heard the officer's name, his jaw dropped and he shook his head. Although Anthony was on a different shift, they were still pretty good friends. Ponch was about to say something to Stephanie to that effect when he realized she was no longer standing beside him, she wasn't even in the living room anymore. So he thought he'd go check in the kitchen, and that was where he found her. He could tell by her shaking shoulders that she was crying. He stepped up behind her, put his arm around her and quietly asked, "Hey, what's wrong?"

She couldn't look at him, not yet. "I'm sorry Ponch, I...I just can't take this anymore. I just better go home," then she turned to leave, but he stopped her.

He had changed his position so fast he was standing directly in front of her now. "Uh uh, not like this you won't." He figured it was time for her to talk it out. Whatever was tearing her apart needed to be let out. Still, he knew he had to be careful. He took her by the hand and they walked to the living room where he guided her over to the couch. "Stephanie, I know whatever is troubling you is none of my business. But as a friend it really hurts me to see you like this."

Ponch had been told about a potentially bad situation that Jon and Stephanie had been involved in and how it was defused because of **her** quick thinking. It showed that she could not only take care of herself but her partner as well. So he began with, "Look, you're a good cop, but if you keep whatever it is that's troubling you bottled up inside..." he stopped when he noticed her lower her head and bite her bottom lip. He reached up to her chin, lifted her head so she had to look at him and then wiped the tear from her cheek, "Take your time, all I'm going to do is listen...**if** you want to talk about it."

How right he was! She had kept this inside for these few months, but she was afraid if she started to tell him about it, the tears would burst forth and she wouldn't be able to stop them. But then again, she decided that she'd have to give it a try. So she began, "Ponch, I...I was married to a wonderful man for two short years. We were both with the Sacramento PD," she lowered her head again for a moment, the again looked back up at Ponch trying very hard to keep control. "He was...he was killed two months ago...when the pursuit he was involved in went bad. He was...running Code 3 in pursuit of a armed robbery suspect, but a drunk driver ran a red light. He was T-boned....,the paramedics said they did everything they could do for him. He was pronounced dead at the hospital. I…I never got to say goodbye." At this point she was crying almost uncontrollably.

Ponch was shocked. He knew from the way she had been acting and reacting to things that had been happening this week that whatever was bothign her had to be something pretty bad. But he was rather unprepared for this, "Ah, Stephanie, I am so very, very sorry to hear of your loss," he told her as he pulled her to him to hug her and let her cry on his shoulder. It turned out that even he shed a tears as his heart really went out to her.

Then he suddenly realized something as he was still holding her. "Stephanie, no **wonder** this Phantom creep has affected you so much, especially losing Stevenson this week on top of it all. This mess has got to be even harder on you then the rest of us." He continued consoling her as best as he could.

When she felt she finally had pulled herself together, she drew away and rubbed her cheeks, as she still felt bad for putting him through this. "I'm sorry, Ponch, I...I really shouldn't have troubled you with this." It did trouble her even though it was **he** that had broached the issue.

"Nonsense, that's what friends are for. Stephanie, you can't honestly hold something like this in. There's absolutely nothing wrong with crying when you're carrying the grief over the loss of a loved one. It's one way to release the sadness over such a situation. All of us grieve in one way or another, but we should never hold it in. Especially when we have friends around us that care."

They continued to talk quietly for a long while, then she suddenly realized the time. "Oh, Ponch, it's almost three in the morning!" she almost shrieked. "We've gotta go to work tomorrow, er, today," she added, finally finding a smile.

"Okay, if you honesly think you're going to be all right.

She smiled, "Yes, I'm gonna be fine."

He saw the smile, but he still wondered if she was being completely honest with him. But he figured he should be happy with the fact that she finally let him know the reason for her run away emotions and let it go at that...for now. "Okay, if you're sure, then I'll walk you to your car, c'mon."

"That's not--"

"Yes, it is," he told her with a smile and a no nonsense tone in his voice. They left his apartment and headed to the parking area where she got into her car.

"Just please be careful going home, all right. I want to see you at Central tomorrow in one piece. Okay?" he told her with that determined look, then he gave her a smile.

'Yup, that smile of his **sure** is contagious.' she thought to herself and smiled right back. "Sure, I'll be careful. Thanks for such a great evening and letting me talk everything out. I appreicate it. See you tomorrow." She started the car, waved and then was on her way home.

Ponch waved back and then watched as she entered the highway and gradually disappeared from view.

He went back into his apartment and went straight into his bedroom. He sat on the bed but figured he wasn't going to sleep anyways seeing as what he learned from her tonight. He started to mull over that very knowledge. Her husband, an on duty cop killed by a drunk driver, plus the recent death of the fellow CHP officer, cause by this Phantom idiot. It sure answered the questions both he and Jon had regarding her reactions to the daily news of the attacks on them by this creep.

Since he felt he wasn't going to sleep anyway, he decided to simply lay back down on the bed with the clothes he had on. He felt he might as well, as it was going to be a long sleepless night, well, what was left of it anyway.


	8. Chapter 8

Vengeance of the Freeway Phantom

Chapter 8

Suddenly, Ponch's alarm went off--with its irritating beeping. As tired as he was, it took a bit for that noise to register as to what it actually was. When it finally did register, he slapped the snooze button, rolled back over and moaned. He only had nine more minutes before...beep, beep, beep," his alarm sounded again. He had instantly fallen back to sleep. "Ah, man!" he groaned. He slowly sat up knowing full well if he didn't, he'd fall right back to sleep.

His weary mind went back once again to last night. He felt that the tired feeling he was fighting at the moment was well worth it. Maybe now, Stephanie would be able to handle her grief a little better now that she wasn't holding it in. He realistically knew though, that it still would take some time for her to deal with it. Speaking of time, he figured he'd better get a move on, because at the speed he was going he'd never get to work on time.

Once everyone was seated in the Briefing room, Getraer came in making the announcement that Ponch, Jon and Stephanie already knew that one more officer was injured. Officer Ortega was still listed in critical condition as of that morning, but was expected to pull through. His injuries were serious, but with a lengthy hospital stay, therapy and more than a couple months of medical leave, in time he should be back to work.

While Getraer filled everyone in, Ponch tried to watch Stephanie for any reaction. Even though she already was aware of the accident, he wanted to see if the reminder would affect her in the usual way. Outwardly, she gave no sign that he could read. She simply looked straight ahead. He wasn't sure if that was a good sign or not.

After briefing, all the officers began leaving the room and exiting the building. Ponch tried to catch up to Jon and Stephanie, "Hey, guys, wait up!" They did, and Ponch continued, "Ah, Stephanie, can I talk to you a minute?"

"Sure, Ponch."

"I'll wait for you by our motors," her partner told her, looking at Ponch and arching a brow. Baker was wondering what his friend had up his sleeve this time.

"Okay," she acknowledged and then turned her attention back to Ponch.

"Are you going to be all right out there today?" Ponch asked, honestly concerned and definitely interested in her welfare.

"Sure, Ponch, I'm fine, thanks, really, I'm okay," she told him with a smile.

"All right, I--"

"Hey, Stephanie, we've gotta roll!" Jon yelled, suddenly, "We've gotta a MVA on our beat!"

"Sorry, Ponch, gotta run!" she turned and ran toward Baker and her motor.

Ponch watched them pull away, then he walked over to his motor to head toward the freeway he was covering that day. He prayed that she would be able to keep herself together for her safety as well as Jon's.

It was midmorning when Ponch and Jon met at Patterson's funeral home. All the officers involved in the proceedings were there. Each one was given their assignment along with their position in the procession from the funeral home to the cemetery. Both Ponch and Jon noticed one officer in particular who seemed to be having a pretty rough time dealing with the circumstances. Apparently, this man must have been very, very close to Officer Stevenson. It appeared that this situation he found himself in was going to be very difficult for him to deal with, and they could tell he was having a hard fight with his emotions.

The meeting itself didn't take very long and as soon as it was over the grieving officer quickly turned to leave.

Ponch was about to go over to talk with him, but Jon put a hand on his shoulder to stop him. He turned to Baker and gave him a confused look. Then Jon pointed out that a sergeant who was there hadn't missed the emotionally distraught man either. He was already standing beside Stevenson's buddy, guiding him away from the others.

"Rick, you okay?" the sergeant anxiously inquired. From the way the young man looked, he realized that was probably a dumb question, but he still needed to ask. Rick still seemed miles away, so the sergeant rephrased his question a bit and repeated it, "Rick are you gonna be okay?"

Rick finally looked at the man who was standing front of him with his hand on his shoulder, "Huh? Oh, sorry Sarge, did you say something?"

"Yeah, look are you gonna be okay with this, being involved in the funeral and all? You and Jim were mighty close.

"Yeah, Jim and I were pretty good friends. I...I just can't believe...that...he had to die this way."

"Look, Rick , if you honestly don't think you can go through with this I'll completely understand. The rest of the B-Shift will too."

"No Sarge, no, I'll...I'll be okay. I have to do this for me...for Jim."

Before saying anything further, the sergeant took a really good look at him. Then, "Okay...if you're sure you're gonna be able to handle this." He knew all the officers, whether involved in the funeral or not were all in a state of shock. Those who had known Jim Stevenson as a friend and fellow officer were especially having a rough time.

This time, Rick couldn't find his voice to respond to his senior officer, he was still trying to pull himself together. He was well aware of how hard this was going to be for him. But he felt in his heart even in death he couldn't turn his back on his friend and colleague--not now. So he simply left the area behind him and headed home as he had to get ready for work later that day.

Now that everything that needed to be taken care of was completed and everyone knew their places, they all filed out of the building. When they got back to their motors, Ponch just sat there lost in thought.

Jon noticed the thoughtful, dazed look on his face, "You okay?" He received no reply, so he repeated the question along with giving him a gentle nudge, "Hey, you okay?"

"Huh? Oh, yeah, I'm fine. I just can't help but think of what a stupid way for a wife to lose her husband…or a guy to lose a friend, or a Division to lose a fellow officer. This Phantom's gotta screw up somewhere. His luck's **gotta** run out sometime."

"I know exactly what you mean. C'mon, let's head back to Central." With that, Baker started his bike and pulled out of the lot. Ponch was right behind him, albeit, somewhat still deep in thought.

Unknowingly, both officers were being trailed by that elusive Phantom. He had parked and waited for them while they were in the funeral home. He was really itching to take out his pigeon, but he knew now wouldn't be the time. He also knew he had become really good at knocking a cop off his bike, but he wasn't willing to risk doing it two at a time, not just yet.

Once back at Central, Jon met up with Stephanie as planned. After whatever needed to be taken care of there, they returned to the highways. It wasn't much longer after that, that Ponch was 'out and about' as well. Although he was unaware that he was being followed.

Meanwhile, the Phantom had decided he had waited, as well as researched this cop long enough. He was ready to take his next victim out. Ah, sweet revenge! So once he knew Ponch was heading back to Central, he quickly went off to look for a car he could use...free of charge, of course.

It took him a little while, but the Phantom managed to find the perfect sporty type vehicle. He had to keep up his image. When he got back to the CHP building, he parked in his usual hiding place and then checked out the area where the motorcycles were parked. From what he could tell his pigeon's motorcycle was still there in the same place it always seemed to be parked. Turned out that he had arrived back just in time, however, because it was only a matter of a few minutes when Ponch came out and headed back to the highways...with the Phantom following a safe distance behind.

He followed Ponch throughout his travels, but for some reason, things didn't work out as the Phantom had planned. The afternoon passed with Ponch never getting into a position where the felon felt he could 'take him out'. There were times when cars had surrounded the biker so that he had no room to get into position. He was really bummed that things didn't work out. However, he knew it was better to be safe than sorry. Besides, the time would come. He just had to be patient.


	9. Chapter 9

Vengeance of the Freeway Phantom

Chapter 9

The morning of the funeral came all too fast--for the entire group of CHP officers. Officer Stevenson's widow, Kathy, was trying very hard to keep her emotions in check, albeit, rather unsuccessfully. The sympathetic overtones of those who wanted her to know how very sorry they were for her loss didn't help her in her fight to keep the tears at bay. No matter how hard she tried to hold them back, the tears kept coming. Even her parents who stood beside her were of no help, no matter how much they tried to console her. They were really hurting for their daughter. They knew how much she loved her husband.

Once the funeral was over, and before the procession to the cemetery was ready, a few officers came up to Kathy, just as she and her parents were preparing to leave as they wanted to share their condolences.

Because there were so many people, family, friends and fellow officers in attendance, the procession stretched quite a distance on the highway from the funeral home. There were a number of officers not in the procession who were making sure there wasn't any traffic snafus along the route.

Once everything was taken care of at the cemetery and the whole miserable thing was over with, Jon and Ponch finally got their chance to speak with their colleague's widow, they gave their condolences trying very hard themselves to keep their own emotions in check, they knew that they had to do it for her sake.

Although both Jon and Ponch had known Jim, Ponch had been closer of the two. He was the first to speak after they hugged. "Kathy, if there's anything you need, please let me know. I just want you to know I'm here to help whenever you need it, okay?"

"Thank you, Ponch, I really do appreciate it," she told him with a weak smile.

As Jon took his turn, Ponch was already thinking that his plan had to be that he wouldn't wait for her to take that first step. He wouldn't, er couldn't do that to a friend. Expecting someone in her position to have to 'ask' for help just wasn't right. He'd give her some space for a while, time to grieve and then he'd take the initiative. That way she wouldn't ever feel obligated or beholden to him for whatever help he may give her.

Jon was forced to break through his thoughts just then as it was time for them to go, so he nudged his shoulder, "Hey, Ponch, time we got back to Central."

"Oh...y-yeah, sure," Ponch stammered.

When both officers returned to Central, Bonnie met them in the hallway. "Hi, guys!" she greeted and then added, "Uh, Joe would like to see both of you in his office. Right now, if you could."

"Okay Bonnie thanks," Jon told her.

Sergeant Getraer had also been at the funeral. He'd watched the faces of his younger officers. He knew how this whole Phantom thing was wreaking havoc with everyone. But with the death of Stevenson, emotions were running quite high. Joe knew it was hard enough just to attend the funeral along with having to keep those emotions in check, but to actually be in the procession, an actual part of the funeral more than likely really brought home the finality of it all. He felt a real need--and the captain had felt the same way--that he should talk to both Jon and Frank. Maybe see if they felt a need for talking to a grief counselor. It seemed that since the Phantom raised his ugly head, everyone became affected by the situation in one way or another.

As the two summoned officers entered Getraer's office, Ponch asked, "Joe, Bonnie said you wanted to see us?"

"Oh yeah, c'mon in, Frank...Jon. Umm, I just need to know if you two are dealing with the Stevenson situation all right. Or...or do you think you may want to talk to someone about it?" 'That's right, Joe, cut right to the chase.'

"No, I'm fine," Jon softly answered.

Ponch on the other hand came out a little more direct, "I'll deal with it **after** we get the creep that's doing this to us."

Joe didn't miss the anger in his voice or the fire in his dark eyes. "Frank, I know you and Jim were pretty good friends and we all know the way he died really stinks, but we have to keep our heads together on this okay? If we can't keep our judgment clear or our emotions in check at all times, we're no good to **anyone** out there. Look, if either of you or both of you think you need to talk to someone, do it okay. I don't want to lose any more officers to this creep because they're not focusing on what is going on around them."

Jon stood there quietly thinking over what his sergeant had just said. But it was Ponch who responded as both officers turned to leave, "**Talking** won't bring Jim back, Joe." And with that they left Getraer's office.

Joe had known right from the beginning that it would be a real battle to get these two to agree to the grief counseling aspect. He could have made it an order, but he felt that this wasn't something anyone should be forced to do. If their work were affected, then it would be a whole different story. They'd have no choice in the matter. But thus far, there didn't appear to be any problems. At least not that he has seen. After thinking it through, Getraer went back to the paperwork on his desk.

Since the funeral and all that went with it ate up most of the afternoon portion of the shift, what little paperwork anyone had from earlier that day was quickly taken care of. Those that were not able to attend the funeral but scheduled to cover the highways had quite a bit to deal with.

Ponch, Jon and Stephanie were all scheduled for the next two days off. Ponch had plans of leaving the city behind to go camping and hiking with a few friends. Jon, however had other plans.

As they left the building for their motors, Ponch asked him, "Hey, Jon, how 'bout coming with me tomorrow. It'd be a great stress reliever doing a bit of hiking."

"Can't, I'm taking Bear's spot tomorrow."

"Your're **working** on your day off? Oh, lucky you. Be careful out there man. I don't wanna come back and hear that you've become the Phantom's next victim."

"Yeah, I'll be careful. You too."

Neither of them saw the distant look on Stephanie's face. Although she felt she was a little more on the mend since she and Ponch had their little talk, the funeral tended to bring back those painful memories. Her heart really went out to Stevenson's wife.

So now the three of them headed for their respective homes.


	10. Chapter 10

Vengeance of the Freeway Phantom

Chapter 10

The following morning, Ponch was very much ready to leave the city behind. He had gotten his gear all set and packed in the car the evening before. So this morning, all he had to do was grab a jacket and head out the door.

The Phantom was all set to carry out his delayed plan. Today was going to be the day he was finally going to 'take out' his pigeon. Once Ponch was disposed of, he'd move back on to even greener pastures...California's highways were full of Chippies! Much earlier that morning, he had spotted and 'borrowed' his latest car. He was always grateful to the people that made it so easy to 'take' their vehicles.

Now he was waiting for his next victim to come out of his apartment complex and start heading to work. But when Ponch left the building, he was dressed in blue jeans, a red and black shirt and carrying a jacket, instead of being in his uniform. That led the Phantom to correctly surmise that the CHP officer had the day off. It made no difference to him. Today was going to be the day.

Ponch drove out of the parking area and was soon on the highway. Just knowing he was leaving the city behind for a little while, even if it was just for two days, made him smile. Then he thought about Jon, who was working for Baricza today. He honestly didn't know how Baker could do it. After the funeral yesterday, Ponch felt he needed this break. He really needed to get away and clear his head. He got to thinking that maybe since the friends he was meeting weren't cops, which would mean the conversation would be totally law enforcement free, maybe that would help in distancing himself even more. Then again, he figured if anyof the guys he was going to be with the next two days had heard about the 'Phantom' that would be a conversation he couldn't avoid.

The Phantom wasn't all that far behind the off-duty officer. The psycho wasn't really all that concerned about his pigeon being in his car instead of on his motorcycle. The felon just needed to adjust his tactics a little. Adjustments presented no problem. He would just have to be patient and hopefully, the conditions would be right and other drivers would cooperate...this time.

They had driven quite a ways on the 405, when suddenly---the Phantom not only saw his chance, but also realized the terrain they were coming up to could make for one dandy 'accident'. If he played his cards right, off-duty CHP Officer Poncher--something, er other, would definitely be put out of commission. The car that was to his victim's right **finally** pulled ahead, which opened up the space for the Phantom to change lanes and move up on his target. "About time!!" he vehemently spoke out loud as he had been waiting, as far as he was concerned, far too long for this opportunity.

He swung into the vacated portion of that lane and moved up enough to be just slightly ahead of Ponch's vehicle. Now he had to make sure the cars up ahead stayed far enough ahead to give him plenty of room to get out of the way once the action really started happening.

Ponch took a quick look at the sporty-looking vehicle that was just to his right. He smiled as he realized paranoia was setting in. His grin broadened when he realized he was in his personal car and not his motor. But his grin quickly faded when all of a sudden that very car made a hard left, which connected with the right side of his car. It happened so fast he had no time to react, there wasn't anything he could do.

The hit caused the desired effect, as far as the Phantom was concerned. Ponch's car spun around connected with one care and the his driver's side was now facing oncoming traffic. The first car behind him hit him nearly broadside even though the driver desperately tried to avoid the out of control car in front of him. That first impact jolted Ponch away from--and then slammed him back against his car door. His head struck the car's window hard enough to render him unconscious.

Meanwhile, a second vehicle failed---also miserably, to avoid being involved. Its driver swerved to miss the car that had piled into Ponch's and ended up slamming into the Firebird, as well--just moments after the initial impact. Following the second hit, Ponch's careening car flipped over and kept rolling over till it went off the shoulder and then rolled down the embankment coming to rest on the driver's side. As Ponch's car disappeared, other cars were still colliding together, no matter how hard drivers were trying to avoid getting involved. When the accident was finally over, about seven cars--not including Ponch's Firebird--had been involved.

A motorist who had a car phone quickly called in to 911 and requested ambulances, police and fire crew. Actually, the emergency dispatcher received numerous calls reporting the same accident.

Another motorist who had managed to witness the carnage from a safe distance had spotted a brown car go tumbling down the embankment. He pulled over onto the shoulder and ran over to the spot where he had seen the vehicle disappear. He was very concerned as he wasn't so sure anyone in the car could have made it through what happened. So he carefully worked his way down to check on the driver.

Now what about the Phantom? Well, this time even **he** barely escaped being involved in the mess. Because, when Ponch's Firebird spun out of control, it had clipped the back of his own car. However, he managed to see his victim's vehicle coming around toward his tail and had punched the accelerator--just in the nick of time. He looked back in his rearview mirror and watched his pigeon's crumpled car disappear over the embankment. he felt assured that his mission had been accomplished. It would be some time, if ever, before that cop would be bothering him or anyone else on the highway again. The Freeway Phantom wiped the sweat from his brow and then fled the scene of the collision.

Speaking of the accident...back at the scene, the motorist who had gone down the embankment to check on the Firebird's driver, soon realized that there wasn't any way that he could reach the car's unconscious occupant without help. Although the man had somehow managed to get on top of the vehicle, he couldn't budge the front passenger's side door. When he got back down on the ground he could hear the sirens of various emergency vehicles.

One of the sirens stopped wailing, so he began yelling at the top of his voice, "Down here! Down here! I need help!" Seconds later, a CHP officer appeared and looked down the embankment. The Good Samaritan motioned for the officer to join him, "C'mon, this guy needs help!"

Before Baker started making his way down to help the shouting motorist, he took a second to see if any firemen or paramedics were available to assist him. At the moment, the few units that were there were already tied up. So the officer went solo and descended the hill as quickly as he safely could.

As he got closer to the vehicle, Baker stopped dead in his tracks, "Ponch!" Upon closer inspection he had somehow managed to recognize the battered car. Baker felt his stomach turn, and his face turned pale. He had to force himself to move and noticed that his feet felt as though they were made of lead.

The motorist heard the officer call out a name and then literally saw the color drain from his face, "Officer, you okay?"

The question startled Jon back to reality. He'd forgotten the guy was even there, "Yeah! Go topside! Get some paramedics and firemen down here!" The motorist quickly left as ordered.

Jon got up on Ponch's car and pulled, yanked and twisted till somehow he managed to pull open the stubborn front passenger's door. He was about to ease himself down into the car when help arrived. "Hold it Officer, let us do that," the captain of one of the many fire departments on scene advised...Station 51, according to the number on his helmet.

Baker was about to tell him, 'Forget it!', but before he could another fireman began to guide him safely back down onto the ground. Jon was not happy at all about being relieved--but he knew Ponch needed the experience that these guys had in dealing with this kind of situation along with the necessary tools needed to get him out of the car.

One of the paramedics eased himself down into the car as carefully as he could so as not to further injure the victim. He started assessing the patient's medical situation.

While he did that, his partner contacted the hospital, "Rampart, this is Squad 51, how do you read?"

"We read you loud and clear, 51."

"Rampart, we have a victim of an automobile accident. The vehicle rolled down an embankment. Patient is trapped in the car; we're now working on extricating him at this time."

"We'll be standing by, 51."

"Heads up, Johnny!" another firefighter, with KELLY emblazoned across the back of his turnout coat yelled and then dropped a blanket down to the dark-haired paramedic inside the car. Johnny covered the patient as well as himself to shield them both from any flying glass. His colleagues intended to smash the windshield as that would be the safest way to get the victim out. While they were covered, the paramedic continued checking over his patient. He didn't like the vital signs he was getting. "Guys, you're gonna have to hurry or we're gonna lose him!"

"We're working as fast as we can, pal," was Captain Stanley's calm yet reassuring reply.

When Jon heard what the paramedic said, his heart almost stopped. He felt like his feet were cemented to the spot as he watched the firemen begin to feverishly work at tearing away the metal that held his friend prisoner.

"Easy, Marco!" Johnny yelled, as the steering wheel and crumpled metal popped and twisted itself away from the victim. The paramedic had to put pressure on a deep laceration just above Ponch's left eye. Although the fire crew had to be careful, he knew they also had to hurry.

"Okay, Johnny," Marco finally spoke up, "that should do it."

With the obstruction cleared, Johnny removed the blanket. That's when he noticed another very serious injury. As the jaws of life were shut down, the paramedic yelled to his partner, "Roy, we've got a compound fracture of the left femur. I'm gonna need a tourniquet--before we move him." They'd have to put on a traction splint as soon as they had their victim out of the car and on the ground. Johnny got the requested equipment and quickly applied the tourniquet. He did whatever else he could to minimize any further injury while the patient was being extricated. Now that it was quiet, the paramedic also didn't like the sound of his patient's breathing. Under the circumstances, there was just so much of a medical assessment he could make. But from all the signs, it seemed the victim could quite possibly have a collapsed lung...on top of countless other injuries that were not yet assessed.

Finally, Ponch was out of the car and both paramedics got busy. Johnny continued the assessment, giving Roy what he found. It surely wasn't good.

Roy quickly got back on the biophone to the hospital, "Rampart, this is Squad 51, patient's been extricated from the vehicle. Patient has possible broken ribs on both sides, possible collapsed lung on the left as there are no breath sounds and a compound fracture of the left femur. We've applied a tourniquet and traction splint. Patient also has a laceration above the left eye and major bruising on left temple apparently from hitting the side window."

While Roy filled in the doctor, Johnny was putting the heart monitor patches on Ponch's chest. He hooked everything up and suddenly interrupted his partner's traffic, "Roy, V-fib!!" Roy threw down the receiver to assist his partner.

The captain was closest to the radio so he continued with the hospital, "Rampart, Squad 51, patient has gone into cardiac arrest. CPR has been started."

"Is he patched in, 51?"

"Affirmative, Rampart."

"Lead two, Cap!" Roy told him.

"Lead two, Rampart," the captain repeated.

Seconds later, "Defibrillate victim, 51!"

Roy and Johnny quickly readied the machine and the paddles. When it reached the desired charge, the paddles were placed in position. Johnny yelled, "Clear!" then pushed the buttons. Ponch's body jerked, as the shock hit him. Both paramedics checked the monitor, which was still flat line. Again the machine was readied and charged, paddles were in position and again the warning was given to, "Clear!" Again Ponch's body jerked, but this time to everyone's relief, slowly, but surely, Johnny declared, "Sinus rhythm!"

"Yeah, but for how long?" Roy quietly thought out loud and then quickly retrieved the handset of the biophone, "Rampart this is Squad 51, patient is in sinus rhythm. We're ready to move him to the ambulance." Then he told his partner, "C'mon, let's get him packaged and up the hill. The quicker we get him to Rampart the better chance he's gonna have."

They set their victim in the stokes and then loaded the equipment around him. After everything was ready, the necessary number of men needed to carry the stokes gathered and took their places to start the trek back up the hill.

Jon was still standing there like a stone cemented in place, he winced each time they had to use the defibrillator to try to get Ponch's heart to start beating again. He was so panic stricken as all he could think of was he was going to lose his best friend.

Fireman Chet Kelly was about to carry up some of the equipment used in the rescue, when he saw Jon standing there looking absolutely dazed. "Officer, you okay?" he asked and then walked over to him just to be sure. But Jon didn't respond, "Ah, Officer Baker, you okay?" he repeated, as he noted the nameplate on Jon's shirt. But he still failed to get any reaction. He tried nudging the officer to see if he could get through to him, "Officer?"

"Huh? Uhh...yeah," Jon finally acknowledged. He turned to see the rescue crew carrying his friend up the hill. "Better get goin, hey?"

So both men started hiking up the hill. Along the way, all Jon could think about was the multiple injuries his friend had. The majority were of a very serious nature--plus the cardiac arrest didn't help in the least either. Yes, Baker was really frightened for his friend. But the nagging question was, 'How in the world did this accident happen?' Both men continued to the top of the hill.

Baker saw Ponch being loaded into the ambulance and quickened his pace. He asked one of the paramedics, "What hospital?"

"Rampart General!" the paramedic named Roy replied, as he closed the rear doors and slapped them twice signaling the driver he was cleared to go. Apparently Roy could tell by the look on his face that Baker's concern had to be more than just that of a police officer dealing with a really bad accident, so he felt compelled to stop and ask, "Officer, by any chance do you know this patient?"

"Yeah...he's my friend and fellow police officer, uh, my partner," Jon quietly confessed.

The last part about the victim being this officer's partner and how he was reacting to the situation was something Roy knew he could totally relate to. So he tried to be as conforting as he could "Look, they'll do everything they can for him at Rampart. He'll be okay."

"Yeah, sure." After Jon saw Ponch as they pulled him out of the car and then learned of his injuries, he just had a hard time being convinced that Ponch was simply going to be 'okay'.

Roy turned and headed for the squad. He had to go meet up with his partner at the hospital. Jon turned too and ran for his motor.

Bonnie saw her colleague was getting ready to leave the area as she saw him put on his helmet, so she called out, "Hey Jon, where you going?" She was busy working her lane of traffic and thought it was very strange that Baker would disappear when she, Baricza and Turner could use all the help they could get.

"Hospital! Ponch is hurt pretty badly," was all Jon took the time to tell her before racing off.

"Ponch? Here?!"she spoke to no one in particular and then got busy dealing with the traffic.


	11. Chapter 11

Vengeance of the Freeway Phantom

Chapter 11

As Jon left the area of the accident, he decided he'd better do one more thing, "LA, 7 Mary 3, contact S4 for me!"

Seconds later, Getraer came back, "7 Mary 3, this is S4. What's up?!"

"Sarge, I need you to meet me at Rampart General's ER! Ponch has been involved in a MVA!"

"Okay, Baker, I'll be there as soon as I can."

When Jon got to the hospital he quickly entered the building. He spotted Roy at the nurses' station.

The paramedic spoke up first, "Hi, ah, your friend's in treatment room 3." Roy again saw the officer's very worried expression, "Look, Dr. Kelly Bracket is one of the best ER doctors. He'll do everything he can to help your friend. Uh, I also mentioned to Nurse McCall that the patient is an off-duty police officer, she'll relay that information to Doctor Brackett."

"Thanks. I just want to make sure I can talk to him to get any medical information on Ponch. My sergeant's also due here any minute, he'll need to know too."

He barely got that out when he felt a reassuring hand on his shoulder. He turned around and found Getraer standing there. "No word yet, huh?" Joe solemnly determined.

"No, too soon. Oh, Sergeant Joe Getraer, Roy--" he paused to read the fireman's nameplate, "DeSoto, one of the paramedics that took care of Ponch."

"Thanks, Roy," Getraer gratefully told him, as they shook hands.

"Well, we did what we could for him out in the field. Dr. Brackett and Dr Early are two of LA County's best ER doctors," Roy announced, hoping it would help reassure them.

"C'mon, you can wait for the doctor in the lounge," Nurse Dixie McCall told them. She had been standing there noticing how very troubled looking both officers were. She guided them to the doctor's lounge, knowing the officers would feel a lot more comfortable waiting in there then out in the busy hallway.

Jon was extremely nervous because of 'not knowing' Ponch's real medical condition and it scared him half to death. Baker didn't even realize it, but, as soon as Dixie left the room, he had started pacing back and forth--until Joe finally got his attention, well, the umpteenth time around anyway. "Jon!" Getraer tried but failed to get his attention--again, so he thought he'd try it one more time, "Jon!"

"Huh?"

Getraer didn't say a word he simply motioned for him to come over by him, then pointed to the vacant chair.

Jon simply shrugged his shoulders, walked over toward the chairs. "Sorry, Joe," he apologized as he sat down beside his superior.

Getraer was upset too, but he knew he had to be and sound positive. It was times like this that being a sergeant really sucked. He could never really show any emotions, at least not in front of his officers. "Look, Jon, he's gonna be okay. He's young, he's--"

Jon practically exploded, "Joe, you **weren't** there! You didn't see them rip his car apart to get to him...see the **blood**...or hear the paramedics describing his injuries! See them try to start his heart beating again! Joe, he just may **not**--"

"Jon we can't **think**--" he stopped as the door opened. Both men stood up as a doctor walked into the room.

Baker spoke up first, "Doc, how's Ponch doin?" he definitely didn't like the frown showing on the doctor's face.

Getraer added, "Doc, I'm Sergeant Joe Getraer, this is Officer Jon Baker. Frank...is he going to be okay?"

The doctor shook both their hands, "I'm Doctor Brackett. Well, your friend has multiple injuries. We're getting X-rays right now. We've got him stabilized at the moment. He's got a compound fracture of the left femur, broken ribs on both sides, left lung collapsed, which we tried to re-inflate. It didn't hold. We'll have to repair that surgically. He's also got--" he suddenly stopped when he heard he was being paged.

"Doctor Brackett, treatment room 3! Doctor Brackett, treatment room 3!"

Brackett barely got out, "Excuse me!" Then the door to the doctor's lounge closed behind him leaving the two **very** worried CHP officers alone again.

Jon quickly went to reopen the door to go out to the hallway, but Getraer walked up behind him and pulled him back in. Baker was frantic, "Joe, that's Ponch's room!"

Getraer was worried too, but reminded him, "Jon, there's nothing we can do but wait till the doctor comes back to tell us what's going on. C'mon, grab a seat." But both men stood there a moment in silence, Jon wasn't ready to go back to sit. Then he finally, but reluctantly, turned back to the room and let the door close behind him. Both men once again took their seats.

Back in treatment room 3, just as the X-ray tech was finishing up, the heart monitor Ponch was hooked up to suddenly started beeping wildly, alerting the guy to the fact that the patient's condition had suddenly headed south. Sure enough, the monitor showed flat line. The X-ray tech quickly hollered for help. Nurse McCall came running and then paged Doctor Brackett.

Seconds later, Brackett came into the room and started barking orders. CPR had already been started. The defibrillator was used to try to jump start the patient's heart. The first two times there was no conversion. So medicine was put directly into Ponch's stalled heart. They were forced to shock his heart a third time.

"C'mon, c'mon!" Brackett pleaded. Then finally, the patient's heartbeat returned--to everyone's relief. "Okay, prep him for surgery--now! The quicker we get him in **and** out, the better his chances will be. Have me paged when he's ready."

"Right, Kel!" Nurse McCall confirmed, and then quickly got started following the doctor's orders.

Doctor Brackett was all too aware that he really didn't get a chance to completely fill in the patient's friends regarding **all** of the off-duty officer's injuries. Then again, maybe what he had already told 'em was more than enough for them to handle. Although they did have the right to know that their friend had a real fight ahead of him. It was Brackett's job to keep the patient alive so he had a chance to **put up** that fight.

Kel paused a moment at the lounge door. He knew this wasn't going to be easy. He forced himself to push through the door. He raised a hand as Jon quickly stood up, "He's back with us. We're getting him prepped for surgery right now. Now, he's also got some internal bleeding going on that we've gotta stop. Look, he's gonna be in surgery for some time. Why don't you go back to your station, and we'll call you as soon as he's out of surgery and in recovery."

Getraer simply said, "Thanks, Doc." He knew the man now had his own job to do.

Brackett was paged to the OR. The doctor apologized, then quickly left the lounge. The two CHP officers sat there mute for some time.

Jon's stomach was in knots. He kept asking himself, 'How many times did that make it for his heart to stop? How many times can his heart and body take the beating it takes to get it started again? How many more times before his heart simply calls it quits?'

Getraer was thinking about both young men. Although Frank had the knack of adding a few additional gray hairs to his head now and again, he knew his abilities as a cop were unquestionable. As for Jon, he knew he was the one who placed--and kept Frank in place--on the straight and narrow. Both had helped each other through some very rough times. Now was the time when Jon would need all the guys from Central to help him deal with this ugly situation. He also realized, 'What am I thinking?! All the guys in the entire Central Division are going to need each other to get through this.'

Suddenly the door opened and a nurse ushered in Bonnie, Baricza, Turner and Grossman. All four started asking questions at once until Getraer held up a hand to stop them. "Hold it! Hold it! Frank just went in to surgery and yes, he's in critical condition."

Bear spoke up, "Well, looks like the Phantom finally got one of us from the day shift."

"Wha-at?!! both Getraer and Jon exclaimed in sheer disbelief.

"What'd yah mean, the Phantom?! There wasn't a cop in sight! Well, except Ponch and he was in his own car!" Jon exclaimed, visibly upset. He was about to add something else, but stopped when he took a good look at the four faces looking back at him.

"From what more than a couple witnesses stated, there was all the classic signs. A green Pontiac clipped Ponch's fender hard enough to create a domino effect and there wasn't any reason for the driver to have to move so quickly in his space..." Baricza stopped as Jon finished his thought for him.

"...Other than it was on purpose," Jon flatly added. "It still doesn't make any sense! Ponch wasn't even in uniform!" Then he felt something else that had already been said needed repeating, "**And** he was in his **own** car!"

"Well, if it is true and he's starting to attack us when off-duty, then we've got ourselves an even bigger problem here," Getraer admitted with a very worried look on his face. "Captain's **really** gonna love hearing this one. Okay, I've gotta get back to Central, Jon, you're officially done for the day and if you need it, take tomorrow off too," then he turned to the other four.

But before he could say anything, Grossman beat him to it, "Yeah, we know, we know, get back to work."

Getraer really felt like a monster at a time like this. He really hated to have to force his people to go back out on the highways, but they all still had a job to do. Yeah, even when one of their fellow officer's was lying in the hospital, critically injured--and who knew if he'd even make it. Before the four left, he turned to them and spoke rather sympathetically, "Look, you guys, I know this isn't going to be easy for you, or for any of us covering those highways, but we all know it's something that's gotta be done. We still have to be visibile out there. But by all means, watch yourselves! Okay?!"

"Yeah, sure," the foursome responded in unison, then they all trooped out.

Getraer kept his eyes on the younger man still standing there for a moment or two, then just before he opened the door to leave, he again tried to reassure him. "Jon, Frank** is** going to be okay." All Jon did was nod his head. Joe simply sighed as he figured he really didn't get through, so he simply took his leave.

After everyone had gone, Jon was left to his own morbid thoughts. '**Why** would the Phantom suddenly change his tactics? How did he even know what Ponch's vehicle looked like?' With those and many other questions plaguing him, Baker began to pace again.

As time went on, he kept checking his watch. It had been over three hours since the doctor had left to operate on Ponch. It was well into the afternoon now. How much longer would it be before he learned how his friend was doing? He realized from what the doctor had said that the procedures must be complicated and it could take some time before he heard anything. He was just scared to death that Ponch wouldn't make it.

All the worrying was making him sick. He knew he had to get a hold of himself, calm down and force himself to be positive like Getraer said. So he decided he'd better sit down before he fell down as he had once again been pacing the floor. The door suddenly started to open. Thinking it was the doctor, Jon quickly jumped to his feet, a bit too quickly for the way he was feeling.

As Johnny and Roy entered the doctor's lounge, they saw what was going on with the young officer and instinctively went into paramedic mode. "Hey easy! Take it easy!" Johnny warned the woozy officer as he quickly stepped up to him and put his hand on the young man's shoulder to steady him.

Jon put one hand to his forehead and momentarily closed his eyes till the spell passed. "Sorry, guess I got up to fast. I thought you were the doctor."

"No word yet on your friend?" Roy asked.

Jon looked at his watch, "No, he's been in surgery for over three hours now."

Both paramedics wanted to try to console this young man, but as usual, at the wrong time, duty called. The HT Roy was holding suddenly squawked, "Squad 51, what is your status?"

"Squad 51 available at Rampart, LA," he replied.

"Squad 51, standby..."

"Look, we've gotta run! We'll check back with you later if we can," Johnny vowed. Both paramedics headed out the door as their dispatcher relayed their next assignment.


	12. Chapter 12

Vengeance of the Freeway Phantom

Chapter 12

Forty-five minutes or so later after the paramedics had left on a call, Doctor Brackett finally walked into the room. "Well, he made it through surgery. He's up in ICU now."

"He's gonna be all right then?" Jon asked hopefully.

"Well, the next twenty-four to thirty-six hours will be critical. We took care of the internal bleeding and repaired his lung. The Orthopedic doctor worked on his leg, which should be fine. Although, he'll definitely have to have therapy on it for a while once he gets the cast off. He is on a respirator and will be for at least the next few days. We're just hoping we don't meet up with any complications."

"Complications?" Jon thought to himself, 'O that does **not** sound good.'

"We have to watch out for pneumonia. Also, I don't think he can afford another cardiac arrest, either. He's just too weak to fight either one of those right now. We're just going to have to watch his condition and hope it doesn't deteriorate. Look, I've gotta go back up and check on him right now."

"Thanks, Doc, umm, I know he's in ICU, but can I see him?"

Brackett hesitated momentarily. The young man standing before him had paled considerably as he told him the medical condition of his friend. "He won't even know you're there."

Jon wasn't about to let that deter him, "Maybe not, but I'll know I was there," he spoke softly.

"Okay, c'mon, you can see him, but only for a moment." Both men left the room and started to head for the elevator and the floor which had the ICU ward.

As they rode the elevator up, Brackett warned him, "I need you to be aware that he's hooked up to a lot of medical equipment, along with the respirator, a heart monitor, and well things such as that. I just don't want you to be surprised when you walk in the room and see all he's connected to."

Even with the warning, Jon still wasn't prepared for what he saw as he walked up to Ponch's bedside. It wasn't just the equipment Ponch was connected to; it was the bandage around his head, around his chest, which also included his shoulder and then the cast on his leg. Of course, Ponch's very pale complexion didn't go unnoticed either, as Jon was too used to seeing his normally darker skin tone.

The nurse who was standing on the other side of the bed stepped away momentarily so Doctor Brackett could personally check over his patient. After the physician finished the task, he placed specific instructions with the nurse and then left the room.

"C'mon Ponch!" Baker quietly urged his heavily bandaged buddy, "you can beat this. Don't you **dare** let the Phantom claim you as another victim. Fight it, Ponch. Fight it with all the strength you've got. We're too good a team to be split up like this. Don't let yourself become another statistic, Ponch. We need cops like you out there..." he softly told his partner. Then he silently thought of something else, 'What am I saying? I **need** you out there, Ponch!'

Just then the nurse spoke up interrupting his thoughts, "Officer, I'm sorry but you'll have to leave now."

"Yeah, sure." Jon acknowledged. Then he turned and reluctantly left the room.

As he exited the elevator on the ground level, Baker checked the time. He realized he had just enough time to get back to Central to catch Getraer to fill him in on Ponch's condition--and maybe a few other officers that may be still there. Then he'd go home from there. He especially wanted to talk to Getraer first, that way anyone that didn't hear about Ponch this time around would hear about it at each shift change briefing through their sergeant.

When Baker got to Central, he immediately went to Getraer's office where he found him at his desk. He gave him the news he had learned from Doctor Brackett and also that he had the chance to actually see Ponch in ICU. Then he met up with a few other officers and also filled them in.

On his way home, he simply hoped that Ponch would win the battle he had before him. He prayed that Ponch had the strength left to do just that.


	13. Chapter 13

Vengeance of the Freeway Phantom

Chapter 13

The following morning wasn't any different than last evening as far as what the on-duty nursing staff in the ICU had to do for Ponch to keep his medical issues under control. In the event the patient's condition did start to deteriorate, they knew they had to be ready to counteract the problem. Or maybe because they were expected to check his vital signs at regular intevals, they'd be fortunate enough to catch a potential probelm and take immediate steps to take care of it **before** it went too far. Because the patient was so weak the nurses **were** definitely prepared for anything to happen at any time.

As the day rolled into evening then close to midnight, Ponch seemed to be holding his own. A nurse came in to go through the routine and at that particular time the numbers she got were nothing really to panic about--not considering his condition anyways. But only ten minutes later, which was sometime after midnight, everything suddenly went downhill. At the nurses' station, the alarms suddenly sounded, which created a fast paced buzz of activity as everyone ran into the ICU ward. Ponch's heart monitor showed flat line. CPR was immediately started, but from all the signs a stronger method was needed.

The defibrillator was prepared, the paddles were gelled, and the on-duty ICU doctor gave the order to, "Stop CPR!" Then the physician stepped forward, he yelled, "Clear!" Everyone stepped away from the bed and turned to look at the monitors. Then the doctor placed the paddles in position and pressed the buttons. Ponch's body jerked as the shock hit, but his stubborn heart rejected the treatment so it was done all over again.

To everyone's dismay the monitor still showed flat line. This time, Ponch's doctor had one of the assistant's inject medicine straight into his heart and then repeated the process of defibrillating--a third time. Just about everyone in the room held their breath. The medical team knew that they just might be losing this patient. The physcian was not ready to give up on this young man. In time, to everyone's relief, the monitor slowly showed their patient's heart was finally beating on its own. The blips had started out slow, but then they had strengthened. Once it was determined the the patient was stabilized, the crash cart team gathered their equipment and left the room. The doctor and one of the ICU nurses stayed behind to monitor the patient for a few minutes.

"That was close, Doctor," the nurse commented.

"I'll say. I really hate to do it this time of night, but I'm gonna have to talk with Doctor Brackett to make sure he's aware of what happened. I'm wondering if we didn't do more damage to his ribs and chest. We may have to take additional X-rays."

The medical personnel completed what they had to do. As the doctor was satisfied that his condition had finally stabilized he left the room.

Following the very early in the morning phone consultation with Doctor Brackett, it was confirmed to take additional X-rays. Both of Ponch's physicians were concerned as to whether any additional damage had been done by the CPR and/or the repeated defibrillations. After the X-rays were read and it was found that no further damage was inflicted on the patient, the ICU team as well as Doctor Brackett breathed sighs of relief. Miraculously, this young man had survived no further injuries.

The next twenty-four hours were relatively uneventful as far as any further cardiac problems. However, the patient did develop a fever. Additional antibiotics were added to his IV and tests were run to determine the cause. Doctor Brackett was kept informed of the patient's condition and he then notified Sergeant Getraer to keep him abreast of what was going on.


	14. Chapter 14

Vengeance of the Freeway Phantom

Chapter 14

It had been four days now since his surgery and entry into ICU. Ponch was finally starting to ever so slowly make progress through the horrendous fog that seemed to envelop him. As time went on, he gradually became aware of sounds around him, but they still seemed to be so distant--as though they were coming from a tunnel. He was still so weak that he didn't even have the energy to make the attempt to lift his eyelids. So he passed the morning drifting in and out of consciousness.

Then he spent the afternoon still battling that stubborn fog bank that just wouldn't fade away. The sounds around him did seem a tad bit closer now. However, his eyes remained just as heavy, he just didn't have the strength to open them so he found himself drifting off to sleep again.

That drifting in and out of sleep continued on through the rest of that day and into the evening. The patient managed to get even more badly needed rest, making it peacefully through the night--of course, with the additional help from the medical staff and pain medication. His caretakers were well aware that their patient was now semi-conscious--from all the signs he gave them.

At the ICU nurses' station, the conversation was centered on 'that 'handsome CHP officer' and how long it would take before he finally won the battle to open his eyes. With the severity of his injuries, it was a blessing for the young man to simply remain semi-conscious. It wouldn't be long though before he would be coming face-to-face with the reality of all the pain that he would suffer from his injuries.

Mid morning the following day, Ponch tried to force his eyes open. But before he could accomplish that task, reality definitely struck. The intubated patient became cognizant of the fact that something was rammed down his throat. It was the most uncomfortable feeling he had ever felt. That's when he panicked and began to struggle.

"Relax!" a woman's voice gently urged. "Okay, c'mon! Don't fight it. Its helping you breathe. Easy now, breathe nice and easy. That's it. That's better."

'Nice and easy? Better for who?' was Ponch's first foggy thought. He finally managed to ever so slowly open his eyes. It took a moment of blinking them to even attempt to get them to focus and then have the person's face that was looking down at him to even come close to becoming into focus.

"Mr. Poncherello, you're hooked up to a respirator to help you breathe," the nurse started to explain once again. "You had a collapsed lung, which has been surgically repaired. The machine is assisting you in breathing, so don't fight it, okay? You **have **to relax and let the machine do all the work." She smiled as she could tell the patient was trying to cooperate. Struggling would trigger his gag reflexes and also start the bells and whistles to go off. "You just rest and be assured that you're doing just fine." The nurse could see the pain in his dreamy, dark eyes. "I'll be right back. Remember, don't fight the machine okay?"she smiled, tapped him on the arm and then, once she was assured that he completely understood, she stepped away from his bedside.

The next thing Ponch wanted to know was, 'If I can't talk, how am I supposed to tell them when I'm hurting?' And oh how he was hurting. Ponch was now feeling the full effects of his injuries. Apparently, he didn't have anything to worry about because the nurse returned a few minutes later with a hypo. She'd left to prepare the medication and intended to put him out of his painful misery. Once the injection was taken care of, it wasn't long before he was pain free--and fast asleep once again.

* * *

Ponch's stay in ICU lasted over a week. During the times when he was conscious, the nurses would explain what he needed to do, again he needed to relax and not fight the machine was one of the usual reminders. For each time that he would kind of forget and fought it, the bells and whistles would sound and the nurses would come running. Actually, during his stay in ICU, because of the severity of his injuries, they'd kept him more asleep than awake. He just wasn't strong enough to deal with the pain totally on his own. It took some doing, but in time he finally managed to work with the respirator instead of against it. Also during those first few days, it was even questionable as to whether his body could handle all the trauma that had been inflicted on it. They not only had to watch for the onset of pneumonia, but they also had to watch for any infection that may start up. As it was, he had picked up a slight fever, but with additional antibiotics that were added to his IV, in time, they were able to battle that back down to normal.

Ponch was kept on the respirator until the day before he was transferred to a regular room. The doctors wanted to be sure that he was strong enough to breathe on his own first. There was no way though that he could convince his doctors to relieve him of the device any sooner. He had been too sick for his doctors to trust his healing lung with that responsibility. When the time finally came that Doctor Brackett thought the young man was capable of handling it, it was removed--much to his patient's relief.

Well, although Ponch was pleased with getting rid of the respirator, he really found it more difficult to breathe in and out without the machine's assistance, well, for the first few minutes. But after he got the hang of it and just relaxed, it got a little better. When he tried to speak though to answer questions as to how he was feeling though, his sore throat caused him to croak like a frog. With some sips of water to wet his throat before he spoke, then he'd just reply the best he could.

Ponch managed to sleep through most of that first respirator-free day. The nursing personnel noticed his vital signs were finally beginning to look a great deal better now that he was basically doing everything on his own. He could quite possibly move to a regular hospital room very soon then.


	15. Chapter 15

Vengeance of the Freeway Phantom

Chapter 15

The following morning, while on his rounds Doctor Bracket stopped in to the ICU where he told Ponchj, after checking over his paperwork listing his vitals signs and all, that he was very pleased with his progress, and then told him the good news that he felt he could be moved to a regular room quite possibly that very day. Then after leaving his patient he felt there was one more very important thing he needed to do before heading back down to the ER, actually two. First of all, Brackett made arrangements to have Ponch taken from ICU to a regular room.

Then the second and, well, most important thing he had to do was go to his office to make a phone call. The kind of call a doctor loves to make. Brackett's call was transferred to Getraer's office. "Sergeant Getraer," Joe answered.

"Sergeant, this is Doctor Brackett."

"Doctor," he acknowledged, sounding a little apprehensive as to what he may learn.

Brackett quickly picked up on it, "No, Sergeant, I have good news to tell you. Frank Poncherello is doing just fine and actually will be moved to a regular room today. We removed the respirator yesterday and he's continuing to do okay on his own. He's still not strong enough yet to totally manage the pain by himself, but the important thing is he's off the critical list."

"Thanks, Doctor," the Sergeant told him, "This news is going to make a lot of people happy around here. Thanks again!"

"You're welcome!!" the physician assured him.

Joe exhaled a sigh of relief and hung up. Since it was well past briefing and all officers had been out on their beats for some time now, Getraer got on the radio, "7 Mary 3, S4."

"Go ahead, S4..." Jon quickly came back.

"Baker...I just got a call from the doctor at Rampart. Frank is going to be moved out of ICU and into a regular room sometime today."

Jon's heart began to pound, he had been hoping for some good news for over a week now. "Thanks, Sarge, that's terrific news. I'm gonna run by there as soon as I can!"

"Okay, Baker, I figured you'd want to do that," Getraer couldn't help but smile as he hung up the phone.

As it turned out, Officer Baker was kept busy for the next few hours, handling a couple of tricky traffic situations. Actually it was kind of a good thing he thought because it kept his mind busy. He really wanted to race to the hospital right away but he also felt that he might arrive too early and only to find out that Ponch hadn't been placed in a regular room yet, and still couldn't have visitors. Because of the situations he was involved in, he didn't make it to the hospital until sometime after 11 o'clock or so

When Jon finally arrived at the hospital, he didn't waste any time finding out if Ponch had been released from ICU and in his own room and then also what his room number was. He was so anxious to see how his friend was doing. Baker especially wondered how Ponch was dealing with his injuries and yes, of course, the pain that went along with them. Jon reached the room and stepped just inside the doorway. He stopped right there when he saw that Ponch's eyes were closed and even though he was aware that his medical condition had been up-graded, he still looked mighty pale.

Ponch opened his eyes just in time to see his friend turn to leave and stopped him, "Hey…where you…you going?" he croaked softly, then cleared his raspy throat.

Baker swung back around. "Thought you were asleep...I didn't want to wake you," he informed Ponch, as he stepped up to his hospital bed.

"That's all…I've been …doing…is sleeping," Ponch rasped again.

"You know, partner, you gave us a real scare this time," he stated matter-of-factly.

"I think…I even scared…myself…this time," Ponch admitted softly. Then he changed the subject, "Where's Stephanie?" he wondered, sounding quite concerned.

"Oh, she's got court this morning. She doesn't even know you're in a regular room yet."

Ponch looked very relieved, "How's she…been doing?"

"Okay. Well, she's been a little rough around the edges since **your** 'accident', but she's doing okay."

"Speaking…of my…accident," Ponch paused to clear his throat, "I…don't think…it **was**…an accident…l think... it was…the Phantom."

Jon arched a brow on that little revelation. He didn't think Ponch could be even aware of that fact. "Yeah, from what witnesses told Bear and Bonnie that's the conclusion we've reached too. It's quite out of character for the Freeway Phantom to go after an off-duty cop, but the end result…" he stopped, as he couldn't finish his thought.

"Doesn't …make…sense," Ponch gasped, trying to remember to breathe rather carefully. "Out of uniform…not on...my motor…in my…own car." He stopped momentarily as he tried to move a little to find a comfortable position, but ended up groaning as the pain he inflicted on himself was almost too much for him to bear.

"Easy, Ponch. Take it easy," Jon warned as he saw his friend wincing in pain. "I'll go get the nurse."

"No…" Ponch gasped, "Not...not yet." He tried to get his wits about him, and then reluctantly pondered, "Jon…my car?"

Baker hadn't quite planned on dropping that little bomb shell just yet. He knew how much Ponch loved his car. But Jon being Jon he just couldn't lie. "Sorry, Ponch...scrap metal." Baker winced when he saw his friend's look of sadness. His heart really went out to him, in more ways than one. "You're mighty lucky to be alive, partner," Baker reminded him. Jon could see that the pain was really getting intolerable for him now. "Ponch, call the nurse, you can't keep fighting the pain by yourself." Baker began to wonder how long his hurting friend **had **been battling it. He sure had one stubborn partner for a friend.

"No, uh ah...the quicker I can…handle it by myself…the quicker I can…" he stopped abruptly as Jon raised his hand to stop him.

"Ponch, if you don't call her, **I** will!" he threatened, er, promised.

Ponch saw the determined look on his friend's face and knew instantly he'd lost the battle. Under different circumstances he felt he would try to push the envelope just a little bit more, but instead he found the call button and pressed it. He frowned when he saw Jon's grin of satisfaction. When the nurse came in, Ponch explained what he needed, er, what Jon thought he needed. She left only to return moments later.

"I'll see you later, Ponch," Baker promised, "Oh...and sweet dreams." Jon couldn't help but grin when he heard Ponch's raspy growl, as the nurse turned her attention--and her needle--back to him.

As Baker left the room, he breathed a sigh of relief. His friend and partner was finally out of danger. He saw another nurse walking towards Ponch's room with a very nice--and rather large flower arrangement. He was really curious to find out who sent it, but he felt there would be other opportunites for him to find out who all sent him the flowers.

* * *

Stephanie's morning in court would definitely be over by now he thought, and she would be back at Central waiting for him. So when Jon got back there, he met up with her. He found her in the break room, having coffee. "Hey, Stephanie. How'd court go?"

"Huh! That guy's lawyer tried everything in the book to get his client off! But fortunately for our side the jury saw right through him," Stephanie told him with a grin. "Oh, did you see Ponch?" she asked, trying hard to remain nonchalant. Getraer had already told her when she came in about Ponch being moved to a regular room.

"Getraer already mentioned it, huh. Yeah," Baker glumly acknowledged. "Poor guy. He's doing okay, but he's in an awful lot of pain."

She shook her head in disgust, "I sure hope he's the last one to have to suffer the consequences of that creep!"

"Well, the Phantom has been pretty quiet since he took out Ponch. But even so I think all of us will second the motion on that one. Have lunch yet?"

"Uh uh. Just this coffee," she scrunched up her pretty face as she crumpled up her paper cup and threw it in the trash.

Jon smiled, "C'mon," he invited, "let's go get something. I'm starved!" It was strange, this is the first time that he really even felt like he had an appetite since Ponch's accident.

* * *

Later that afternoon, Getraer went to the hospital to see for himself how Ponch was doing. For fear of waking him, should he be asleep, he quietly stepped up to the doorway and peeked in. The TV was on, but the room's occupant was showing no interest in it. Not only was the patient not interested in his television, but he looked--for all the world--like he was about to jump right out of his skin.

Ponch had fallen into a deep, painless drugged sleep shortly after Jon had left. He had slept over two hours and after waking up felt ready to do battle with the pain once more. But with his leg immobilized with the heavy cast, his very sore shoulder, chest **and** ribs, there just wasn't any comfortable position he could find to lie in, which was just as well, because he knew he'd have paid a painfully high price trying to find such a position. So he had decided to try watching TV for a while, thinking that would help keep his mind busy. It worked for a while, but then he had started to wish that he was anywhere but where he was now.

Getraer was still standing in the doorway watching him--closely. Joe also took in the many flower arrangements scattered about the room. 'The kid could start his own flower shop by the looks of it,' he thought with a smile. The sergeant sighed and finally stepped into the room.

That's when Ponch finally spotted him. "Sarge!" he croaked out his happy greeting.

"Hey, Frank. How're you doing?" Getraer wanted to sound upbeat for the young man, as he could see the pain in his dark eyes.

Ponch tried to pull himself up a little with his good arm, but ended up clenching his teeth and closing his watering eyes.

"Easy, Frank, easy!" his superior warned him as he stepped up to the bed.

"I'd be doin'…a whole lot…better…if I…just wouldn't **keep** doin' that…" Frank confessed, with a grimace and clenched teeth.

Joe watched him a moment and wondered if he shouldn't find a nurse. "You gonna be okay? Or you want me to get a nurse?"

Ponch's eyes changed from pained-filled to panicked, "**No**…no…," he squeaked, "**every** time...I see...a nurse…she's carrying a needle…with **my** name…on it!" The patient paid for that remark. As Getraer began to chuckle, Ponch couldn't help himself either, "Oooo-oooh...that smarts."

"Sorry, Frank," Joe commented, and tried hard to keep from grinning, but ultimately failed. He decided it was time to change the subject. "Got some pretty flowers there, Frank. Who sent that one?" he asked, pointing to the largest, most spectacular, most colorful arrangement---the one Jon when he visited earlier that day.

"Don't know. It was here…when I woke up. I've been dying here…wanting to find out."

"You mind?" Getraer asked, as he pointed to the card. He figured Frank could have had one of the nurses come in and hand him the card, but then he remembered his dislike for what they usually carried in with them and couldn't help but smile to himself.

"No, please...go ahead."

Joe stepped forward, plucked the card from the flowers and handed it over to Frank--who anxiously took it and opened it. "They're from Stephanie," Frank told him as he read the name before the little note, and thought, 'Hmm, maybe our little talk worked a little more than I thought?' he couldn't help but smile to himself.

Getraer smiled, too, as he couldn't help but think, 'Another notch for Frank. Hmm, maybe he really is what the woman needs to help her through her problem.' The sergeant noticed that Frank was rubbing his shoulder and looking very uncomfortable. "Hey, when was the last time you took some pain medication?"

"Some time before Jon left, maybe before noon. Why?" Frank had a feeling he knew the direction this was heading. Sergeant or no sergeant he was **not** getting another shot.

Joe looked at his watch. Around noon meant almost four hours ago. "Frank, it's not worth fighting the pain. You just got out of ICU. Give yourself time to heal and give your throat some time off for good behavior."

"Ahhhh, Sarge, I'm okay, really. Don't need another shot." Frank assured him, but he never was any good at telling untruths.

"Frank, **don't** make me make it an order," his sergeant threatened and looked at the young man before him with a raised brow.

Oh how Ponch wanted to argue the point. But then again that look as usual served its purpose. He'd been on the receiving end of it many other times. He also knew Getraer **would** make it an order. So he surrendered to the inevitable, "Something tells me…you and Jon are…in cahoots. All you guys…want me…to do...is sleep," he grumbled, but obediently pressed his call button.

"Whatever do you mean by that, Frank?" Getraer asked, trying to sound as serious as he could, while inside he was smiling all the while. The look Frank gave him almost made him laugh right out loud.

All Frank committed to was, "Nothing." The nurse came in so he reluctantly asked for some pain medication. He rather bluntly told her that he didn't think he needed it, but the man there in the uniform with the sergeant stripes on his shirt sleeves thought he did.

Once the nurse left and Getraer was sure his young friend would be getting some much needed sleep he told him, "Okay, Frank. Take it easy. I've gotta head back to Central. I'll stop by again to check on you."

"Sure, Sarge. Thanks."

As Getraer left the room, he smiled. Knowing the young man as well as he did, he figured to keep Frank from telling the nurse that he had changed his mind about wanting something for the pain, the sergeant came up with a plan. He would stand there just outside his room and wait for the nurse to return. As the woman came down the hall towards the room, Joe went to talk to her. "Hi, I'm Sergeant Getraer. Frank Poncherello is one of my officers. If he tells you he doesn't need or want that," he pointed to the syringe in her hand and smiled, "simply tell him it's an order from Getraer. Okay?"

She smiled at him in return, "Sure Sergeant, no problem."

Joe couldn't help but smile. He sure wished that he could see the look on Poncherello's face when the nurse told him that should he try to refuse it. 'Cahoots with Jon?' That remark made the sergeant's smile broaden. He left the hospital and returned to Central.

Back in his hospital room, Ponch was watching the nurse as she prepared to give him his hypo. He flashed her his most disarming smile and cleared his throat, "I…I changed my mind," he told her, "I don't really need that…I'm okay…really."

"Well, Mr. Poncherello, Sergeant Getraer told me to tell you that 'It's an order'." The nurse couldn't help but smile as her patient's smile suddenly faded--in pure utter **defeat**.

"An order?" he croaked. He quickly thought of something else in his own defense, "Could we…simply not do it, but say we…did?"

The nurse silently chuckled to herself at her patient's temperament. She knew he was harmless, handsome as all get out, but harmless. She also knew he'd be in a much better mood in a few minutes--out cold--and pain free. So she simply shook her head no and proceeded to do her job. And, sure enough, in a few minutes, the patient drifted off into a deep, peaceful, pain-free sleep.

* * *

Stephanie finished her shift and headed home. She couldn't help but smile as she rode along, because she was thinking of how she was off duty for the next two days. She knew where she'd be going once she got home tonight, changed into her street clothes and gotten a few essential things done at home. The woman wanted to see for herself how Ponch was doing. Jon had described Ponch's condition, but she simply wanted to see how he was managing for herself. She needed that reassurance that he really was going to be all right.


	16. Chapter 16

Vengeance of the Freeway Phantom

Chapter 16

Stephanie finally arrived at the hospital and was just about to enter Ponch's room, when a passing nurse informed her that he was asleep--and probably would be for a while yet. She wouldn't mind waiting at all. She thanked the nurse and quietly entered the room. Ponch's visitor took a chair that was by the wall and placed it beside his hospital bed. She shook her head as she took note of all the bandages and the cast that immobilized her dozing friend's leg. 'How fortunate you are to be alive, Ponch, how **very** fortunate indeed,' she thought as she sat down.

As the minutes slowly ticked away, she found herself--once again--lost in thought. The book she had brought with her--for just such circumstances as these--was forgotten. Instead, the woman reflected on how all the officers had been so very kind to her since her arrival at Central, especially Jon and Ponch. Ponch had a certain something about him. Was it because at times he reminded her so much of Jim? Or was it simply that he went out of his way to show a genuine concern for her? Or was it probably a little of both? Whatever the reason was or wasn't, the woman was confused. Was she really developing feelings for Ponch? If she was, could she trust her wild emotions? By thinking of Ponch as more than just another friend, was she being unfair to Jim? After all, her husband had only been gone for such a short time? With that last question still fresh in her mind, she turned to look at Ponch only to see him staring back at her.

"You…" he began, stopping briefly to clear his throat, "come up with…a solution?"

His question took her **completely **by surprise. It was as though he had been reading her mind. All she managed to spit out was, "Huh?"

"The gears were…turning pretty…pretty fast there," he croaked. Ponch was pretty steamed that his voice was still so raspy.

"Sorry," the woman apologized, looking rather sheepish. She was really grateful that he couldn't read her mind.

"Don't be…its okay...to think," he told her with a grin.

From that point, the conversation remained on the light side. The two of them quickly discovered that they really enjoyed each other's company.

Then Grossman came in carrying a gift-- which he passed on to Ponch. It was basically just a little gag gift, one to hopefully make Ponch smile. Grossie's present was inside one of those special gift bags with the cord handles. Ponch reached into the fancy sack and pulled out a teddy bear dressed in a CHP uniform and even had a small CHP motorcycle helmet. "Hey, Grossie…thanks!" he told him with a big smile. It worked.

"Its darling, Grossie," Stephanie announced as Ponch handed the bear to her so she could get a better look.

"How you doing, Ponch?" Grossman asked, looking quite concerned.

"I'm doing great…if I could just…keep people from **needling** me all the time," he quipped. Grossie looked at him with a questioning look. "Needle, Grossie? Get it?" he asked, looking somewhat amazed that his friend hadn't gotten the joke.

"Oh. Oh, yeah. Got it," Grossie finally said, and grinned.

"I really am doing...all right, Grossie…although I'm not quite ready to…run a marathon or...or climb aboard my motor yet. But I'm doing okay." However, Grossman looked like he needed a little more assurance than what he'd just been given.

Grossman visited for a while more. He was glad to be able to talk with Ponch again. Finally, Grossman realized that maybe he'd stayed a little too long. He could tell his friend was trying to hide the pain being inflicted on him because of laughing at his jokes. So, Grossie decided it was time for him to vacate the premises. He bid his friend and Stephanie adieu and left.

Ponch barely had a chance to catch his breath when Bear and Bonnie came in. With three of his friends there now, Ponch didn't have a chance. No matter how hard they tried not to, they still managed to make him laugh. So, after about 15 minutes or so Bear and Bonnie decided they'd better leave now too.

After his friends left, Ponch lay there in his hospital bed, holding his ribs and clenching his teeth. His eyes were tightly shut—and slightly tearing as he was dealing with the pain.

Stephanie sat there watching him closely. Because of the laughter brought on by his now departed visitors, Ponch was now hurting and quite badly. Stephanie suddenly realized that maybe she should leave also. "Hey, I think I'd better clear out, too..." she announced when Ponch finally re-opened his eyes, "so you can get some rest. You--"

"No…don't go!" Ponch pleaded, er squeaked, and reached out to stop her, and naturally felt the consequences of that move, but he still managed, "I'm okay…really. Look Stephanie… I…enjoy your company. I really want you to stay, if you could,." he smiled his handsomest smile.

Seeing that irresistible, disarming smile practically glued the woman to her seat. She quickly came up with a thought though, "On one condition."

He eyed her cautiously, "Which is?" His first thought was, 'Oh no, **not her**, too.' He could envision a nurse with a needle coming his way.

"You close those eyes again and try to get some sleep."

Ponch's smile returned. He could handle that. "Deal," he simply said and obediently closed his eyes. He definitely did not want her to leave.

'Hmm, that was way too easy,' Stephanie thought to herself. She looked down at her book, opened it to the page she was on and read a sentence or two. Suddenly she had that feeling she was being watched. She glanced back up and sure enough--she was. Ponch had waited a moment or two and then slowly re-opened one eye. Stephanie was still sitting there, right beside him, reading a book. He had simply wanted to make sure she was still there, but she had glanced up and caught him looking at her. "Close 'em!" she ordered sternly.

He quickly obeyed, not wanting to give his pretty company a reason to leave or worse yet a reason to have that needle come his way again.

'I could really get used to this,' Stephanie quietly told herself. She watched him momentarily, to make sure he didn't try it again. When she felt assured that he wouldn't, she went back to her book.

Ponch **was** really hurting. He didn't figure he'd be able to fall asleep--not without some help. But he wasn't **about** to call the nurse and end up being poked again. No, he would just simply lie there...quietly... with his eyes closed. That would keep Stephanie happy and she'd stay right there where she was. He'd barely finished his thoughts when he finally did, indeed, doze off.

Stephanie soon realized that she had been reading and rereading the words, but nothing was sinking in. Instead her mind drifted back and forth between Jim and Ponch. That same nagging question had returned to haunt her. Had she allowed herself enough time to mourn her late husband? Something else suddenly occurred to her, as well. Ponch may not even like her in 'that' way. (That thought alone proved that she didn't know Ponch at all.)

Speaking of Ponch, he woke a couple hours later, feeling somewhat better.

Stephanie knew she really should take her leave, but she waited a few minutes before telling him that. "Ponch, look, I really should go okay," she finally told him, "It's getting quite late. I'm glad you had a chance to rest. I'm off tomorrow. I'd like to come and visit with you again."

Ponch's eyes lit up, "Stephanie, I'd be upset if you didn't come." Suddenly, he remembered something else, something he didn't have a chance to tell her before, but should have. "Steph', thanks for the beautiful flowers."

"You're welcome, Ponch. I'll see you tomorrow then." She waved and walked out of the room. The woman was very happy that she had changed her mind when it came to not saying anything to Ponch about being off tomorrow. When she saw his reaction, she realized that maybe; just maybe there was some hope there. Yes, perhaps Ponch did feel more than mere 'friendship' towards her.


	17. Chapter 17

Vengeance of the Freeway Phantom

Chapter 17

The following morning, Ponch got a roommate. The orderlies brought the patient into the room, carefully placed him in his bed and then left

Nurse Dixie McCall quickly came in to check on the new arrival. "Johnny, do you need anything?" she wondered, sounding more than a little concerned.

The dark-haired young man smiled, "Yeah, Dix, a new leg and a set of intact ribs, so I can get outta here."

"Now, now, Johnny, you know very well that you'll be here for at least a couple days--if not longer," she told him with a smile. Before leaving the room, the woman stopped by Ponch's bed, "How you doing, young man?"

"Better thanks."

"Good! That's what we like to hear. And it sounds like your voice is coming back a little as well," she smiled and then left the room.

The door had barely closed behind her, when it opened again and a tall, blonde young man came in dressed in a paramedic's uniform.

The paramedic started towards his new roomy's bed, but then stepped up to Ponch's instead. "Hi! How you doin'? I'm Roy DeSoto. Uh, you were in that bad accident last week on the 405, weren't you."

"Yeah, I was," Ponch confessed to the fireman/paramedic, who had recognized him. "The Freeway Phantom caught me off guard--and here I am."

"Freeway Phantom?" Roy repeated, "Oh, yeah, I heard about him. His main target is the Highway Patrol, isn't it?"

"Huh! Yeah, and now it appears he's going after us even while we're off duty."

"Well, you keep mending there and they'll ship you outta here in no time," Roy told him with a smile.

"Thanks. I can only hope."

Then Roy walked over to his prone partner's bed side. "Hey, Johnny, I must say that you were lucky this time. You could have been hurt a lot worse than just a broken leg and a few busted ribs."

Ponch could tell by DeSoto's banter that these two men were obviously partners.

"Yeah..." Johnny glumly concurred, "Tell me about it. Being buried by a bunch of heavy boulders **ain't** my idea of a 'fun' time."

"Cap's already called for a replacement, so I'll be back in business in no time. I just hope it's not Brice again. I don't think I could take the guy for 'six to eight weeks'."

"What do you mean? I don't think anybody could take Brice for that long." Both firemen laughed heartily. Well Roy did, anyway. Johnny grimaced, held his ribs and tried to stop laughing. Roy also tried to hold his amusement in check, as he saw that his partner had just inflicted a lot of pain on himself.

Ponch lay there listening attentively. He was anxious to find out what happened to cause his roommate to be 'buried by a bunch of heavy boulders'.

"Well, Johnny, I guess I'll head out. I'll probably see you again, sometime later today--if we get any runs." Before heading for the door, DeSoto turned back to the prone CHP officer, "Take care, okay? Oh, and don't let Johnny keep you up with all his stories," he teased. Roy flashed his talkative friend a wry grin. Then, on that light note, the on-duty paramedic left the room.

Johnny wasn't smiling. He had even managed a slight snarl as his partner had departed. Then with a smile, he turned to his roommate, "Well, I guess since I'm stuck here, might as well introduce myself, hi, Johnny Gage."

"Frank Poncherello, but everyone calls me Ponch."

"You sure look a whole lot better than you did that day of the accident."

"Yeah. The Freeway Phantom's fifth victim is still alive."

Johnny shook his head, "A madman...mowing down motorcycle cops...Man, what is this world coming to?"

Again Ponch was more interested in what happened to his roommate, "Hey, enough about me. What happened to you?"

Johnny smiled, "Rescue gone bad, as they say. Some kids were playing in a cave in Cougar Canyon. Course, they had to pick the **most** unstable cave in the whole area. We got called to rescue them, because, of course, there'd been a cave-in. After what seemed like forever, we finally got through to them. Roy and I went in and took care of the medical problems the best we could. Then, as soon as we were ready to get them--and us--out of there, there was another cave-in. So the engine crew ended up digging **us** all out. When the rocks came down, both Roy and I covered the kids with our bodies and, unfortunately, I ended up being the one that got beaten up by--what felt like a **ton** of rocks...and here I am."

"Ouch! Man, what people like you and I don't get ourselves into just to save other people's necks."

"Well, I--" Gage began, but then stopped and raised an eyebrow, as a pretty young woman came strolling into the room.

Ponch followed Gage's gaze. A broad grin formed when he saw that it was Stephanie that had captured the fireman's attention, "Hey! Good morning!"

"Good morning!" Stephanie returned, "How you doing today?"

"Doing a whole lot better--now that you're here!" Ponch told her with that broad grin of his.

The woman noted Ponch's comment and thought, 'Hmm, maybe things are, indeed, looking up.' She also noticed the no longer vacant bed. "I see you've got a roommate."

"Oh, yeah, Stephanie, this is Johnny Gage. Johnny this is my good friend, Stephanie Wilkes. She's also a CHP officer. Stephanie, Johnny is one of the paramedics that worked on me at the accident scene. Unfortunately, right now, as you can see he's also been injured." Introductions over, Ponch turned his full attention towards his 'good friend' as she sat down beside his bed.

"Well, Ponch, you are looking better today. I take it you got some sleep last night. Sounds like your voice is finally coming around too."

"Huh? Oh yeah," the well-rested officer grinned. "I tried to manage the pain myself, but ended up getting poked again anyway. I honestly think those nurses love giving shots," he told her with a grimace.

Stephanie smiled and thought, 'That would all depend on who the patient was.' Then cleared her throat and stared rather sheepishly over at her handsome young friend. Ponch was looking back at her,wearing a puzzled expression. Stephanie just kept smiling at him, not daring to divulge her thoughts. The woman was now doubly glad that he couldn't read her mind.

The two 'friends' visited right through the remainder of the morning—till lunch was delivered. Stephanie announced that she was going to head home so Ponch could eat in peace.

But he had other plans. "Steph, don't go all the way home. Just go down to the hospital cafeteria for lunch. That way you can come back, umm, that is if you want to."

Stephanie sighed inwardly, as Ponch flashed her that handsome, disarming smile that made her heart melt. "Okay. Sure. I'll see you after lunch," she promised and headed straight for the cafeteria.

After the woman had left, Johnny couldn't help but comment, "Umm, are **all **the CHP female officers that pretty?"

Ponch grinned, as he remembered Getraer's remark to him. Then he turned to his roomy, "Hey! Down Romeo!" he warned, "I'm hoping Steph' and I will become a number one of these days." Then his grin broadened and he finally answered his roommate's question, "Well, yeah, actually they are. But I've already dated most of 'em." Ponch saw Johnny's forlorn look and chuckled--only this time, he remembered to hold his ribs as he did so. "Hey," he added, "maybe, when we're both outta here, I'll set you up with one of 'em. Okay?"

And it was Johnny's turn to grin. "Deal!"

Then they both turned their attention to the little trays that contained their plates of...hospital food.

* * *

That day was a typically busy day for all on-duty Highway Patrol Officers. Between fender benders, traffic hazards, and looking for stolen vehicles--amid numerous other problems that came up--everyone was kept occupied. Even Baricza…sort of.

Bear was back in his patrol car driving down the freeway. The officer had finished a traffic stop, a few miles back. The college student that he had stopped had apparently come from a wealthy home. The kid had thought that he was too good to be pulled over by a 'common' cop. But, he had soon learned that he was not smart enough--nor rich enough--to talk himself out of being written up. Bear couldn't help but chuckle as he remembered the look on that spoiled brats face when he was handed the officer's ticket book and asked for his signature.

Baricza's grin vanished as something suddenly caught his attention--a shiny, red car. Not just any old car, the thing was a very sporty-looking, newer-model, fancy-red Ford Mustang. The officer watched as the vehicle pulled up ahead of him and into the lane--just to his left. The hairs stood up on the back of Bear's neck. The officer checked his mirrors for any other traffic in the immediate vicinity. No other vehicles were beside--or that close behind him at the moment. Bear continued to observe the driver of the Mustang. The guy kept checking his mirror, and the officer realized that quite possibly he was the one being watched. Bear didn't know if it was just paranoia setting in, but it almost seemed like the driver was waiting to catch him off guard. 'Better to be paranoid--and stay alive, than to be caught unaware--and be killed' the officer silently reminded himself. If there was any chance at all that this car was being driven by the Freeway Phantom, Bear had no intentions of giving the guy the opportunity to take **him** out.

Since Ponch's accident, especially with him not even on his motor, all officers, whether on their motors or even in the police cruisers were continually on guard. They've made a lot of traffic stops to check out drivers of sporty, fast looking cars just like this in the past week or two. It just made them feel a little better to keep on top of things.

Baricza checked for other traffic again. If he **was** being set up, there were now a few cars coming up on either lane beside him, but none close behind him. The vehicles traveling along beside him and just up ahead kept slowing down a little and speeding back up--typical freeway traffic. Suddenly, Bear saw the driver of the Mustang make a quick move of the steering wheel. The car lurched quickly to the right as he tried to hit the left fender of the police car. But, Bear had been so focused on what** could** happen, he was prepared for something like this and had quickly slammed on his brakes just in time. If Bear hadn't been so alert, the Mustang would have definitely smashed into the left front fender of his car. Traffic continued moving forward. Realizing that he had failed in his attempt to wreak his usual havoc, the Mustang's driver punched the gas pedal. Baricza hit the lights and siren and the chase was on! He thumbed his radio mic', "LA, 15 7 Adam, in pursuit of possible Freeway Phantom suspect. California reg. David, Victor, X-ray 395...on the 405 just south of Broadway. The suspect's vehicle is a newer-model, red Ford Mustang..."

"Roger, 15 7 Adam," LA came back. "All units in the vicinity of the 405, 15 7 Adam in pursuit of person suspected of being the Freeway Phantom. Suspect is driving a newer-model, red Ford Mustang...Location: south of Broadway."

"7 Mary 5, I'm two away! I'm coming up from behind. I'll run traffic interference." Grossman acknowledged. He wanted a piece of this guy too.

"15 7 Charles, two away. Break, Bear I'll be also coming up from behind to assist," Bonnie acknowledged.

"15 7 David, two away, I'm near Broadway and in a position to run a road block," Turner announced.

"Turner be ready with the stop-sticks," Bear warned him.

"Okay, clear!" the officer acknowledged, and sped up his patrol car to get in position.

The CHP dispatcher came back, "15 7 Adam, your car is stolen…" then continued on with the rest of the information.

The dispatcher's confirmation of the vehicle being stolen along with the driver's sudden attempt at trying to involve Baricza's vehicle in what could have been a horrendous accident made Bear's adrenaline really start pumping. He looked down at the speedometer and found they were already traveling in access of over 100 miles an hour! This suspect had certainly gone over the edge.

Other motorists up ahead heard the siren and kept pulling onto the shoulder, giving the officer--and the suspect he was pursuing--plenty of room to race on. All breathed sighs of relief as the two cars sped past--without incident.

Wasn't long before Bear spotted Turner's flashing overheads. Turner's car blocked a portion of the freeway lanes, which would force the car to take the remaining two lanes. He'd postion the stop sticks so that no matter which lane the pursued vechicle took, he'd still run over them.

Bear hoped Turner would get the stop-sticks set up in time--because the Mustang was fast approaching. Baricza couldn't keep his eyes on Turner as he was too busy watching the road. Turner's timing had to be just perfect. At the speed they were going, the sticks had to be immediately retracted after the Mustang went over them or they could take out Bear's tires, too.

The stop-sticks are designed to puncture a suspect's tires and slowly release the air. The Mustang was going so fast and the driver was so intent on getting away that he didn't even see the equipment there on the road, so the car went right over them. Knowing that Bear's car was still coming at high speed, Turner quickly retracted them. So, by the time Bear got there, the way was clear for him to pass by unscathed. Baricza pulled up behind the suspect's gradually slowing car.

The phantom cursed seeing that traffic up ahead was grinding to a halt and all the lanes of escape were completely blocked. He realized his 'borrowed' car was of no further value to him, and bailed out--while it was still rolling.

Baricza quickly stopped his car, shoved his patrol car into 'Park' and continued to pursue the suspect--on foot--with Bonnie now hot on his heels. Bear's adrenaline was pumping so hard that it felt like his feet weren't even touching the ground. With sheer determination of wanting to get this guy, the officer closed the distance between himself and the suspect. Then Bear threw himself forward tackling the guy to the ground. The man fought with him as hard as he could but then Bonnie gave her assistance. The suspect kept fighting both officers as hard as he could, but to no avail. Bear kept telling the guy, "Stop resisting….stop resisting!"

Between them, Bear and Bonnie quickly had their struggling suspect subdued. Bear was breathing so hard he could barely speak, "Thanks…Bonnie," he gasped, and slapped the handcuffs in place.

"Don't mention it. It was my pleasure," she replied, and helped her colleague pull the prisoner to his feet.

"Read…him…his rights…okay," Bear asked her, as he tried to catch his breath as they walked back to the vehicles.

"You **pigs** really think your something, don't yah," the young suspect taunted.

"I wouldn't say anything till after I've read you your rights," Bonnie warned and flashed the fugitive an angry glare. It was a real struggle for her to remain calm and professional--when what she really wanted to do was deck the guy--right then and there!

"Don't bother, I know my rights," the suspect snarled.

"Oh...it's no bother at all," Bonnie assured him rather sarcastically, and began shoving him towards Baricza's patrol car. So she read him his rights. "You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used in a court of law. You have the right to talk to a lawyer and have him present with you while you are being questioned. If you cannot afford to hire a lawyer, one will be appointed to represent you before questioning if you wish. You can decide at any time to exercise these rights and not answer any questions or make any statements." By the time they got to the car she had finished. The prisoner was placed in the back seat. "Good bust, Bear," Bonnie acknowledged.

"Hey, we all…had a hand in it...It wasn't... just me," Baricza humbly replied, still having a little problem catching his breath.

"Sorry, but I don't see it that way," Bonnie said, before heading back to her patrol car.

Bear smiled as he slid back behind the wheel of his police cruiser. He was certain this guy was the Freeway Phantom. The officer glanced into his rearview mirror. His gaze was met with the hate-filled eyes of the suspect. Yes, sir! This guy had to be the Phantom! Bear smiled again and then, while his colleagues got the stalled traffic underway again, he transported the suspect to Central--for questioning.

Bonnie, Grossie, and Turner returned to Central, as well. It was their hope that they'd get a chance to find out if the suspect was--indeed--the dreaded Freeway Phantom.

Bear left his prisoner in Turner's custody for awhile, so he could go talk with Getraer. Baricza figured his commander would want to be informed of the latest events. "Sarge, can I talk to you a minute?" he inquired as he walked into Joe's office.

"Sure, what's up?"

Bear proceeded to give the sergeant a complete report. He explained that he had immediately suspected that the Mustang's driver just might be the guy they'd been looking for. He went on relate how the suspect had tried to 'take him out'. Bear ended with a brief account of the capture and arrest.

Getraer thanked Bear for his report, checked with him to make sure they 'read' the guy his rights and then headed for the holding area. The sergeant had a few questions of his own for this particular prisoner that is if he would answer them--without having a lawyer on board.

When Getraer entered the room, he told the guy that he understood that he was 'read his rights', but he wanted to make sure that he understood them. The guy said he did and that although with an attitude would talk. Once they had a chance to question him, it became quite apparent that the subject Bear had nabbed was indeed the Freeway Phantom. It also became crystal clear as to why he hated cops---and why he had carried this vendetta of his for so long. In the end, the Freeway Phantom was charged with one count of vehicular homicide for the death of Officer Jim Stevenson, at least four counts of assault with a deadly weapon, fleeing and alluding, and resisting arrest.

Getraer called and filled in the captain regarding the arrest of the Freeway Phantom. To say the least, Joe's superior was very happy to hear the news. Perhaps now, his officers could relax a bit and quit having to keep looking over their shoulders, well, in regards to the 'Freeway Phantom' anyway.


	18. Chapter 18

Vengeance of the Freeway Phantom

Chapter 18

Back at the hospital, after finishing her lunch, Stephanie returned to Ponch's room--only to find him playing with his food. "What's the matter, no appetite?" she asked him, rather concerned that something was wrong.

"Huh?! Oh...sorry, Steph'…didn't hear you come in."

The woman realized that she must have startled Ponch, because he was holding his ribs--and his handsome face was scrunched up a might--in pain. "Ponch, you're not going to gain your strength back that way. Your food's stone cold by now," she meant it as a reprimand, but her voice softened upon seeing his pain-filled face.

Ponch pushed the tray aside and admitted, "Guess I'm just not hungry."

Stephanie stood there, quietly, a moment. She saw the distant look in her friend's dark eyes and couldn't help but wonder what he was thinking about. She knew it wasn't any of her business, but, still she was worried. Ponch appeared to be upset about something. Since he was determined he wasn't going to eat, she rolled the little table that contained his food tray out of the way and said, "Ponch, I think I should head on out so--"

"No!...No! Don't go!…Please?" Ponch pleaded, his eyes filled with panic.

Since she didn't really want to leave, and since Ponch most definitely seemed to want her to stay...Well, it wouldn't take a college graduate to figure out which way she'd go. In the end, those pleading eyes of his won out. "Okay, Ponch. If you want me to stay, I will," she promised and then added, "Maybe you're just tired? Why don't you rest a bit?"

"No…no. I'm not tired," Ponch assured her. Then he turned rather serious, "Stephanie, can we talk a minute."

"Ah, sure," she said, sounding somewhat uncertain. For the life of her, Stephanie couldn't fathom what Ponch had meant by that. After all, they'd already been 'talking' most of the morning.

"I don't mean to intrude on your privacy," Ponch continued, carefully choosing his words. The last thing he wanted to do was upset her in anyway. Then he started to say what he had been thinking about while she had been out of the room for lunch.

Meanwhile, Jon--who also had the day off--had arrived at the hospital to visit Ponch. He was anxious to see his recuperating partner--especially after the phone call he'd just received from Bonnie. Baker had promised her that he wouldn't say a word to Ponch. Now, Jon just hoped he could keep that promise. When he reached the doorway of Ponch's room, he stopped. The conversation he almost interrupted seemed a little emotional and--with Ponch as one of the parties involved--Baker wasn't surprised that the person his partner was conversing with was a woman. Only, in this case, the woman was Stephanie.

"You see, Ponch," Stephanie was saying, "the past few months have been a real struggle for me. First--my husband's death. Then--moving here and having to deal with this Phantom creep. And, finally--you…you almost getting--"

"Hey," Ponch interrupted, "For starters--you've been trying to deal with your husband's loss all by yourself. I know you had a lot of friends, er, fellow officers back in Sacramento that could have helped you through this."

"But, I--"

"Uh uh, Steph'," Ponch interrupted again, "You've got 'friends' here now, too. And we won't--I won't let you handle this alone...not anymore. But you've **got** to be willing to let me help you, Steph'! Please don't **shut** me out. Okay?" Ponch paused for effect before continuing on to another issue. He wanted to allow her some time for that to sink in. "As for the Freeway Phantom...You know we're gonna get the guy. It just may--"

"Just may what, Ponch?!" Stephanie wondered, interrupting him for a change. "Take more **time**? How much **more** time?! How many **more** officers are going to be injured…or killed...before we--" she stopped herself, this time and stared sadly down at him, "Look at you…you were nearly--"

"Hey! I'm okay," Ponch assured her, but then added, "Well, I will be. Look Steph', maybe we should just change the subject. The topic of this conversation isn't helping you at all."

"Ponch, seeing you in this hospital bed just reminds me of how very close you came to being another statistic. I already lost my husband…I just…I just don't think I could have handled losing a very good, very close friend, too..." Stephanie confessed, a tear rolling down her cheek. Ponch slowly reached out and took her trembling hand in his.

Jon decided he had been standing out in the hallway long enough. He knew the woman was on the verge of tears, because he had distinctly heard her the crack in her voice. "Hey, Stephanie…Ponch, old buddy. How yah doing?" Baker declared, as nonchalantly as he could. He wanted to give the impression that he'd just got there. Stephanie quickly turned away--to brush 'something' from her cheek, before turning back to face him, and Jon pretended not to notice.

"Hi Jon!" Ponch greeted, sounding genuinely delighted to see his partner again.

Stephanie cleared her throat, smiled weakly and replied, "Hi, Jon."

Baker suddenly recognized the other patient in Ponch's room. The guy was one of the paramedics who had treated Ponch at the accident site. "Hi. You're a paramedic, aren't you?" Jon said and strolled over to stand at the fireman's bedside.

"Yeah. Hi. John Gage..." Johnny introduced and extended a hand, "We met briefly--downstairs in the doctor's lounge--about a week ago."

"Right," Baker shook Gage's hand, "Jon Baker. I remembered you from the accident scene. You helped save my partner's life..."

"Yeah, and now, we're roommates," Johnny told him with a grin.

Jon smiled, "I don't know which of you I should feel sorrier for. I'm sure Ponch has been enlightening you--"

"Um, Jon?! Get over here man!" Ponch requested. He knew exactly where his friend was headed with that --and he didn't want to give him the chance to go there.

Baker gave Gage a smile and a shrug and then strolled back over to Ponch and Stephanie.

The three friends talked for some time, about various things. Naturally, the number one topic was how Ponch was doing. Baker intended to keep the conversation light and--most definitely--as far away from the Freeway Phantom as possible. Well, that was Jon's intention anyway.

Unfortunately, it wasn't Ponch's. "Any more action by the Phantom?"

Baker panicked. What was he going to say? He didn't want to lie. Yet he had promised Bonnie that he wouldn't say a word about the Phantom's arrest.

Ponch took Jon's hesitation wrong and anxiously exclaimed, "Don't tell me another officer's down?!"

"No, Ponch! No! Um, actually he's been pretty quiet since your accident. He must be tied up on something else." Yeah, that was good, that should suffice.

"I just hope he doesn't crawl under a rock some place. If he goes into hiding, we may never get the chance to take 'im down."

"Don't wor--" Jon caught himself--just before he blurted out the good news. Baker wiped the smile from his mouth and then shut it. He hoped neither Ponch nor Stephanie would question him further.

Ponch and Stephanie had caught the slight smile that had crossed Baker's face, but they just took it as a sign that he was just glad to find his friend's condition improving.

As time went on, Jon kept wishing that someone, **anyone**, from Central would step into the room, so that some of the 'heat' could be taken off him. Baker didn't want to take away Baricza's right to give Ponch the great news, and he knew Bonnie, Grossman and Turner would make sure Bear got there. He just wished they'd hurry it up.

"Hey, its shift change time," Ponch finally spoke up, breaking through his partner's thoughts; "I sure hope some of the other guys will stop in. It's great seeing all of you."

"Oh, I'm sure you'll get some visitors today," Jon reassured him, "We just have to take turns. We don't want to tire you out too much."

"Ahh, it's not like I have anything else to do," Ponch replied with a smile. Then, realizing that Stephanie had been quiet for some time, he gave the hand he was still holding a gentle squeeze and asked, "You okay, Steph'?"

She started a little, "Huh? Oh, I'm sorry, Ponch. Did you say something?"

Ponch smiled, "Yeah. Are you okay?"

"Um, yeah. Sure. I guess I was just day-dreaming a little," she confessed with a shy smile.

Ponch wanted to ask what was on her mind that was troubling her, but thought twice about it--since Jon was still there. Also, he hesitated to ask because he still wasn't sure it was any of his business.

Jon hadn't missed the faraway look in the woman's eyes, either. Baker also couldn't help but notice that there seemed to be some sort of chemistry going on between the two. Jon knew that Ponch was trying to establish a relationship with the woman. But Stephanie still seemed so unsure about what she should do. He felt that Ponch would be careful not to press her. Baker just hoped that neither of his friends would end up getting hurt.

Stephanie was grateful that Ponch had taken her hand in his. It was most comforting. How could she tell him that she was willing to start anew--but couldn't forget the past? The love she felt for her husband was still there in her heart--and would always remain there. That didn't mean she couldn't make room for someone else. For now, maybe it was just too soon after losing him. Yes, she was willing to become involved in a new relationship...but was she ready? Stephanie didn't know where--or when--to begin to live--and love--again. That's what had been on her mind when Ponch had interrupted her troubled thoughts.

Everyone in the room turned towards the door as Bonnie, Grossie and Turner came in, escorting Baricza. "Hey, guys!" Ponch declared with a grin, "It's great to see you!"

"How yah doin' Ponch?" Bear wondered, as he was literally shoved up to Ponch's bedside.

"Not bad, Bear...Not bad. Hey! I want to introduce you guys to my roommate. Barry Baricza, Bonnie Clark, Ted Turner and Artie Grossman, this is Johnny Gage. He's one of the paramedics that treated me at the scene." The newcomers exchanged greetings with Ponch's roommate.

Then Bonnie wanted to get down to the main reason for the visit, "C'mon, Barry," she urged, "Spill it!"

Bear turned his full attention back to Ponch. He saw the questioning look in his friend's eyes, "Ah, Ponch, speaking of your accident, I think you'll want to know that our arch nemesis, the Phantom is now in jail!

But it was Stephanie who reacted first, "You what?!"

Bear grinned, "Yeah, the four of us nailed him earlier today" he very happily told their prone friend and colleague.

Ponch just lay there. He was--almost--too stunned to speak. But he finally found his voice, "What…how…when did this **all** happen?" the Phantom's last victim finally stammered.

Bear explained everything. He told Ponch all about the Ford Mustang...his state of paranoia...his accurate judgment and quick reaction and how it saved him from being the Phantom's next victim. Baricza finished with a detailed account of how the Freeway Phantom was finally taken down.

Even though Jon had been told that the Phantom had been finally caught he wasn't really told all the details. So actually hearing all the particulars--firsthand from Bear--even made Jon shake his head in amazement.

"Bear, you know what even scares me even more about this?" Ponch asked, trying not to show any sign of what he was about to hit Bear with.

"What's that, Ponch?"

"You think too much like this Phantom guy," this time Ponch smiled.

"Huh?" Bear questioned. Being compared to this nut was the last thing Bear thought his friend was going to say.

"Well, look, first of all, you figured out that Grossie was about to become one of his victims and saved **his** neck. Secondly, you were able to correctly assume that this guy had something in mind for **you**," Ponch had that toothy grin as he pointed directly at Bear.

That revelation also struck everyone else so the banter began, but then came back to a bit of seriousness.

Stephanie at the moment wasn't listening to what was going on around her. She was just so tremendously relieved. She felt she could finally breathe freely again, knowing that their arch nemesis was finally behind bars. Then finally she was able to concentrate on those around her.

Naturally, Ponch needed to know more, "So, why was he doing this? I mean, other than out of a hatred for cops? I mean, what could possibly make a person hate so much that he'd do something like this, and keep on doing it?"

"From what we managed to get out of him," Bear continued, "the guy said, 'Because you guys killed my brother.' Yeah, Ponch, I gave him that same look," Baricza admitted, after seeing the confused look on his bedridden friend's face. "He said that his older brother was being pursued by a CHP motor officer. And this guy was also in the car at the time. They were traveling at a high rate of speed when his older brother lost control of the car. His brother was killed and he was severely injured in the accident. The guy spent quite some time in the hospital."

"Apparently long enough to come up with the idea of injuring or killing a cop or two as pay back," Jon added.

"Apparently so," Ponch replied disgustedly.

"Well, at least he's behind bars now--and no more officers are in danger...well, at least not from him," Stephanie commented. Her fellow officers smiled and nodded in agreement.

Ponch's friends could tell that he looked pretty tired, happy it was finally over, but tired. They said their goodbyes and left.

All except for Stephanie, that is. "Hey, you've had a long day. Why don't you rest a while now? It's almost dinner time. "

Ponch was suddenly feeling the effects of all his visitors. He was too exhausted to argue, so he just told her, "Yeah. Okay. I think I do need some rest, now. But Steph, you stay here, okay?" he requested with a tired smile. He still wanted to have that little talk he'd wanted to have with her. He was very happy at the news he learned tonight but he was also very tired. He wasn't sure he'd have the strength to be as convincing as he felt he would have to be. He just needed to find the courage to speak to her.

Stephanie looked into those dark, pleading eyes of his and smiled back, "Sure, Ponch. If you'd really like me too..."

Ponch answered her by reaching up for her hand. He took Stephanie's hand in his and then closed his tired eyes.

3


	19. Chapter 19

Vengeance of the Freeway Phantom

Chapter 19

A couple days after the good news regarding the Phantom was learned, Ponch's roommate, Johnny Gage, was given his ticket out of the hospital.

But before leaving, the fireman managed to remind Ponch of something. "Hey, you are going to keep your promise about getting me a date with one of your female CHP officers? Right?"

Ponch smiled, "Yeah, sure. I haven't forgotten. But I think it should wait till you're out of that cast, don't you?" Both men smiled and agreed to that sensible line of reasoning.

Johnny's partner and friend, Roy DeSoto managed to get the day off so he could take Johnny home and get him situated. As far as Gage was concerned, his cast couldn't come off fast enough.

Ponch was kept in the hospital for almost two whole weeks. He still hadn't found the courage to have that 'little talk' with Stephanie. Seemed every time he felt he was finally ready, one of his other friends would come along to visit. Plus, Stephanie had to return to work, which lessened his time with her--considerably.

Now came the day of Ponch's release from the hospital. He had made arrangements with Sergeant Getraer to allow Baricza and Jon to assist in transporting him home. While the medical personnel fixed up the release paperwork, one of the nurses helped Ponch get dressed. If it wasn't for his broken leg, still aching shoulder, and he couldn't forget that healing rib cage, he would have been able to manage the task himself.

Anyway, once Ponch was fully dressed and ready to go, the nurse sat her patient in a wheelchair and positioned the uncomfortable contraption by the window, so he could look outside--which was something he hadn't been able to do the past two weeks. Ponch had already placed the call to Central and knew that it could take a while before his two friends were actually available to come and take him home. 'Home', that's where he knew he'd really get the healing time. There were those occasions, such as this one, when he was all alone, that his thoughts always came to how close he had come to becoming just another statistic. It hadn't just all been a bad dream, this was reality.

This Freeway Phantom character truly did pin all the blame on every CHP officer and then allowed himself to develop such a hatred for cops for the death of his brother. The creep really had, willfully and deliberately, carried out his vendetta. Many CHP officers really had been seriously injured. And then there was the tragic death of Officer Jim Stevenson. Ponch couldn't ever forget that! What a waste. And now--?

Baker and Baricza stepped into the room just then. They'd been talking back and forth as they entered, but their fellow officer--who was still sitting by the window--had apparently not heard them as he was so deep in thought. They silently looked at each other, wondering if something was bothering their pensive friend. "Ponch, you okay?" Jon softly spoke as he walked up to him, "Ready to head home?"

"Huh?" was all Ponch muttered as he was startled from his reveries.

Baker smiled, "I said, you ready to go home?"

Ponch grinned broadly, "Yeah! I sure am!"

But neither Jon nor Bear was fooled. This time, Baricza asked, "Ponch, you sure you're okay? Want me to get a nurse?"

That put Ponch into a panic! "No! No! I'm okay. Really. I was just thinking, is all. C'mon! I've got all the papers signed--I just want to go home..."

So, Jon began wheeling him out of the room. Bear grabbed Ponch's bag and the trio headed off down the hallway towards the elevators.

While they were waiting for the elevator doors to open, Ponch suddenly thought of something. "Stephanie, couldn't get away?" he asked, sounding a bit disappointed. He didn't see the look both men behind him gave each other. The seconds of silence got Ponch a little nervous, "Ah, guys, she's okay isn't she?"

"Sure, Ponch," Jon assured him, "Stephanie's fine. She just got a little busy on the San Bernardino Freeway. Minor MVA, is all. But, she'll stop by your place as soon as she can," Baker sighed--er, lied. He never was good at even a little fib. Jon just hoped Ponch hadn't caught on. The elevator doors finally opened and he eased his friend's wheelchair inside. Ponch didn't ask any more questions regarding Stephanie. Both Baker and Baricza breathed quiet sighs of relief, as Stephanie had requested that her conspicuous absence be considered a guarded issue.

"Oh, good I was hoping she would," was all Ponch finally said.

As Jon wheeled Ponch over to their squad car, he determined that he should be placed in the back, where he could prop his busted leg up on the seat.

It wasn't the most comfortable position Ponch had ever been in, but he knew the trip would be short, so he didn't complain.

* * *

Before long, Ponch was at his apartment complex. Bear and Jon helped him out of the car and then gave him his crutches. He was a bit clumsy yet trying to manage them, but as they opened the door and he went into his living room, his eyes widened when he saw all of the changes that had been made there. "What? Who? Hey, this is great!! You guys?" Ponch stammered, seeing that his living room had been transformed into a temporary bedroom for him. Everything he would more than likely need was right there for him…well, almost everything.

The sound of approaching voices grew louder and louder. At last, Stephanie, Bonnie and Jed Turner appeared from one of the apartment's back rooms. All three had smiles on their faces when they saw how happy Ponch was with their new arrangements.

Ponch noticed right away that Stephanie was not in uniform. He turned to Jon and Bear, looking puzzled. The two co-conspirators simply shrugged their shoulders and tried their best to look totally innocent. Ponch grinned. He'd save any further questions for later, when--hopefully--he and Stephanie would be alone. Ponch crossed his fingers on that one.

Once everyone felt Ponch was settled in and comfortable, they realized they'd better go make themselves visible on the highways again. The on-duty officers didn't want to push the kindness of their sergeant too far.

Stephanie and Ponch soon found themselves…alone.

"I'm glad you liked what we did here," Stephanie said as she sat down beside the sofa bed, "It'll make it a lot easier for you when you get visitors," she added with a smile.

"Thanks. I really appreciate everything you and the others have done for me," Ponch replied, and flashed his thoughtful friend a warm smile of his own. Then he bit his lower lip and reached a decision. He wasn't going to delay matters any longer. "Steph', could we talk a moment?"

"Yeah, sure, what's on your mind?"

"Us."

"Us?" the woman repeated, looking and sounding confused.

"Yeah! Us. Steph', I don't want you to think that I'm rushing you into anything. But I just want you to know that…that I really…I really would like to get to know you better. I'd like us to--" he stopped there, remembering how tortured she'd been since coming to LA. "Steph', I would never ask you to forget your late husband. You've got too many good memories with him," Ponch paused a moment, giving the woman a chance to reply, but she remained silent. He didn't know if that was good or bad. "Steph', I'd like to spend as much time as I can with you." He had never found it so hard to talk to a woman before. Even though in his mind he'd rehearsed what he was going to say, he just couldn't seem to get the right words to come out. Ponch knew that he was faltering. How was he ever going to get her to realize that he was genuinely concerned about how she felt? 'Actions speak louder than words...' he reminded himself.

Stephanie watched silently as Ponch took her hand in his. She continued to sit there quietly as he flashed her that trademark smile of his. The woman was busy mulling over the things she knew he was trying to get across to her. At last, she spoke, "Ponch, I…You're right. I could never forget Jim. In time, maybe the memories might fade a little, or at least stop hurting so much, but I'd never be able to forget him. I…I do need someone to hold on to now and then, though. But, with the both of us being cops...Well, I don't know if I--"

Ponch stopped her right there and the gentle hold on her hand tightened just a little, "Steph', even if I wasn't a cop, it wouldn't matter. Nobody's life is risk-free! We all take chances. We can't let the fear of dying rule our lives--or hold us back from the things we want or need." Ponch paused a moment again wondering if she'd say anything in reply.

Stephanie realized that Ponch was trying to be as gentle, kind and considerate of her feelings as he possibly could. And she really did love him for that. Her feelings had been a little mixed up lately. Maybe, just maybe, Ponch would be the one to help her get her life back on track again. "Ponch," she finally replied, "I'd like to get to know you better, too. Just make sure you stay as far away from those Phantom-types as you can possibly get. You really scared the heck out of me!"

Ponch grinned from ear to ear. It was so good to finally be home...and to have Stephanie there with him. Ponch knew that, from now on, his own life wouldn't be so 'lonesome'.

Time passed and Ponch finally got the medical release to return to work, although it was light duty. Light duty meaning desk duty. Something Ponch, well, actually no road cop never liked to do. He would rather be out and about on his motor, facing the public and handling all different kinds of situations. But, until his doctor felt he was healed up enough, Ponch realized he had no choice in the matter. 'Course, all his friends were there trying to make his time on desk-duty a little easier to take. Well, as long as Sergeant Getraer wouldn't find them there, that is.

As for Ponch and Stephanie? Their relationship grew as well. Ponch was able to help her sort out her feelings and cope with her tragic loss. The two of them managed to help each other through all the difficult times cops face in their daily lives. They came to share each others innermost feelings--confident in the fact that they'd be understood.

The end

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